Sisters
by LilyRose95
Summary: When Maia, Ava, Ellie and Leala Fielder learn they are witches on their 11th birthday, they are shocked and thrilled. But when the news tears their family apart, they are thrown into a world they don't know, with only each other and new friends to lean on
1. Explosions, Birthdays and Letters

**Chapter 1 Explosions, Birthdays and Letters**

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise is mine. **_

The small stone cottage sat one house from the edge of the terrace. It had a small front garden, with a winding cobbled stone path that lead to the peeling red door. The gold mailbox was tarnished with age and the hinges on the  
wooden gate were rusting. The grass had not recently been cut and the roses in the flower bed were wild and unkempt. There was a peaceful stillness that clung tothe home like a spider's web, and the warm summer sun was making an effort to break through the thin layer of clouds that coated the blue sky. The calm and quiet was a peaceful mask to the mania that was concealed behind the peeling red door and stiff windows.

'Ava Arianna Fielder, give me back my book or I'll chop you into a thousand pieces and scatter them into the ocean for the fish to eat!' yelled Ellie. Maia sighed and rolled her icy blue eyes at Leala who giggled nervously; Ellie's threats

were getting more creative. Ava came to a sudden halt and spun around to glare at Ellie. 'Don't you full name me, Eleanor Arda Fielder,' she hissed narrowing her icy blue eyes. Ellie mimicked her. 'Then give me back my book,' she demanded. Ava tossed the book into Ellie's hands. Ellie glared at Ava withicy blue eyes before storming into the bedroom at the end of the hall and slamming the door loudly, the windows rattling in complaint. Ava continued to glare after her sister, her eyes steely. She kicked a plant pot that was sitting one the beige carpet, muttering to herself before retreating back down to the opposite end of the hallway, and into her bedroom, her jet black curls bouncing with each angry step.

Maia sighed again and cast a tired look at Leala. Leala smiled helplessly and shrugged. Like her siblings, Leala had icy blue eyes, but they seemed softer, probably because she didn't lose her temper the way they did. Leala was the gentle one. Despite the constant bickering, which was mainly between Ava and Ellie (who didn't like to be called Eleanor), the girls were close. Understandably really, being quadruplets. At a first glance, they didn't appeared very different. They were all the same height, with the same icy blue eyes and face, pointed chin and rounded cheeks. But it was their hair and personalities that set them apart.

Maia was the confident one, with flaming red curls that cascaded down her back. Her face was dusted with light freckles. Her eyes shone warmly, despite their icy hue. She was kind but strong, well able to stand up for herself but with hurting anyone else. Maia was the first born, a whole three minutes before Ava. Ava was the scary one. Her hair was jet black and curly, and framed her face in such a way that it made her seem threatening. Her eyes, though icy, undeniably burned, particularly when she was mad. Ava was dangerous when her temper flared. She was obviously well able to stand up for herself, but it often resulted in someone getting hurt. The sisters were all bright, but Ava in more of a devious and tricky way. And yet, Ava managed to be lovable, especially when she laughed, and her pale face glowed. Ellie was born less than a minute after Ava, and Maia sometimes wondered was this why they clashed so much. But more likely it was because Ava and Ellie could not be more different if they tried (and it sometimes seemed that they did), and yet oddly similar. Ellie's hair was as white blond as Ava's was jet black, though it was just as curly (another feature the sister's had in common; madly curly hair). Her eyes were very bright, but not fiery. Ellie was unbelievably intelligent, always scoring ridiculously well in exams. She was never to be found without a book in her hand. She was clever and quick, but not in a sneaky way. Ellie too was able to stand up for herself, but in a different way from Maia and Ava. Ellie was more likely to either just laugh a taunt off, or come up with a logical and carefully planned way to get her own back, but without hurting anyone. Ellie hated to see people suffering. Leala was the youngest, by five whole minutes. Her curly hair was a soft, light brown, her eyes were gentle and kind and her cheeks were always dusted with a soft, rosy hue. Leala was the least independent of the sisters, and liked having them around. She had sometimes been teased in school for being quiet, but only until Maia or Ava sorted the culprits out. Leala adored all her sister's, but especially Maia. She always refused to take sides when her sisters were arguing; she didn't pick favourites, she loved them all. Leala sometimes felt mad with herself for being too shy to stand up for her sister's the way they did for her. So she made up for it by always being there for them when they needed comforting, or if they just needed someone to talk to. She didn't realise how good she was at making her sisters feel better. The girls' mother always remarked how funny it was that the girls' hair was so different; they had apparently all had the same hair colour, a medium shade of brown, until they were about a year old.

As Maia and Leala sat on the stairs giggling about their sisters, they heard a loud bang, followed by a deafening crash from Ava's room. Dropping the school books they had been sorting, they raced down the hall and threw the door open. Ava was standing in the middle of the room, looking utterly bewildered, the floor covered with splinters of wood and torn pages; Ava's bookcase appeared to have exploded. Maia raised her eyebrows at the still shocked Ava, as Ellie appeared at the door. 'What was that- Whoa, what did you _do_?' she asked Ava, sounding half critical, half astonished. Ava shot her a disparaging look. 'I didn't do _anything _idiot,' she snapped, 'It just… exploded.' The girls were silent for a moment, just staring at mess of wood and shredded books on the floor. Finally Ava spoke. 'I- I was really mad… and then everything went white and… boom,' she finished helplessly. Ellie snorted. 'Well good look convincing Mum and Dad,' she said, 'And the day before our birthday.' Ava reddened dangerously, and Maia intervened. 'Shut up Ellie,' she commanded, and Ellie did. 'We have to clean this up, or at least hide it.' But the girls couldn't work out how to fix it, so they settled on sweeping it under a loose floorboard, deciding to keep their parent out of the room, at least until after their birthday.

Once they had hidden what was left of Ava's bookcase, the sister's filed downstairs and collapsed at the kitchen table with glasses of ice cold juice. 'Ah, summer at last,' breathed Ava as she swallowed a gulp of grape juice. 'I wonder what classes we can take in secondary,' said Ellie thoughtfully as she sipped her cranberry juice. Maia snorted into her orange juice. 'Please Ellie, we just got off today!' she pleaded. 'I hope it won't be too busy in secondary,' said Leala as she swirled her glass of apple juice. Ava and Maia groaned in unison. 'Both of you put a sock in it. _Now,_' ordered Ava. They did.

Once they had finished their drinks, the sisters went back to their rooms. The rooms were quite small. They had previously been two bigger rooms, but as the girls got older, their parents had had them split into four smaller ones so the girls could have their own space. The girls' bedrooms were the only rooms in the upstairs of the little cottage, asides from the small bathroom at the end of the corridor. The stairs came up to the middle of the hallway that was the upstairs. Maia's bedroom was the farthest to the left, Ellie's was beside her, then Leala's and then Ava's.

The sun remained trapped behind the thin clouds for the rest of the afternoon, so the girls pottered lazily in their bedrooms. But as Maia watered her cactus collection, and Ellie alphabetized her bookshelf, as Leala worked on the cushion she was sewing, and Ava polished her snow globe collection, their minds kept drifting back to the incident with the bookcase. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Their hair had changed colour from an ordinary, mousy brown to bright, shocking and beautiful flaming red, warm brown, white blond and jet black, quite unexplainably. When they were five Maia was climbing a tree when a branch snapped. She was at least ten foot up and should have fallen and seriously hurt herself. But as she plunged towards the ground, Maia suddenly felt light and when she hit the hard ground there was no impact, it was as though she fell onto a soft, invisible cushion. There had been the time when two children at their school had been taunting Leala and shoving her against the wall, when suddenly they had been flung backwards and landed flat on their backs on the concrete with a thud, leaving Leala standing flat against the wall looking and feeling completely shocked and bewildered. Ellie had been astonished when she leapt from a swing into a bed of angry nettles and emerged without having been stung once. Ava had once found herself on the roof after an argument with her mother, with no recollection of how she had gotten there. The bookcase wasn't the first thing the sisters had managed to explode either; many a glass or flower pot had been lost to burst of excitement or anger, and once even a fish bowl (fish and water included).

When their parents came home that night, the sisters managed to keep them out of Ava's room. After an uneventful dinner, the girls gradually migrated back to their bedrooms. Maia collapsed onto her bed, exhaustion sweeping over her. She let the bookcase disaster slide from her head, letting her mind drift to thoughts of the activities the summer would hold. Next door to her, Ellie was propped up on her bed, her nose buried in a thick book. Leala lay under her pale yellow quilt staring at the ceiling, ideas of how they could fix the bookcase swirling in her tired mind. Ava was sitting upright, her slim legs crossed, staring into space. It bothered her that she didn't know what had happened to the bookcase. All she could remember was being flooded with anger, everything going white, and then suddenly being swallowed by the deafening bang and flying shards of glass and splinters of wood. Ava fidgeted unhappily; she didn't like not feeling in control. She sighed as she flopped down onto her cold pillow, waiting for sleep to overpower her upset thoughts. As each sister slipped into a deep sleep, none of them had any reason to suspect that their eleventh birthday would make for such a hectic, strange and wondrous year.

Maia awoke the next day to the blinding sun seeping through a gap in her light green and blue striped curtains. She rolled over onto her back, dozing lazily, planning to take full advantage of holidays. Then she remembered what day it was. She bolted upright and threw off her light blue quilt, raced to the door and through it open. The warm smell of sizzling bacon and fresh hot pancakes wafted into her nostrils. She inhaled deeply as Ellie emerged from her bedroom, rubbing her blue eyes tiredly. She smiled at Maia. 'Happy birthday,' she said grinning. Maia grinned back. 'Happy birthday Ellie. Come on, Dad's making pancakes!' Maia and Ellie tore down the stairs and into the little kitchen. The walls were a light cream with matching cabinets that had a polished wood surface. Their father was standing in front of the stove, whistling as he cooked the bacon, his sandy hair unbrushed. The girls' mother sat at the round table, Leala perched on the chair opposite her, wearing a pale yellow sun dress. They all looked up as Maia and Ellie entered. 'Happy birthday, sweethearts!' exclaimed Mrs Fielder as she leapt up to hug her daughters. 'Yes, happy birthday girls!' exclaimed their father pulling them both into a one armed hug, 'Eleven already, where did the time go?' he grinned. Maia and Ellie grinned back. Both their parents were quite young, only thirty five. Mrs Fielder, or Beth, was short with shoulder length light brown hair that she wore in a ponytail and hazel eyes. Mr Fielder, or Ben, was tall with messy sandy blonde hair and warm brown eyes. Where the girls had gotten their frosty eyes was a mystery.

Leala smiled at Ellie and Maia as they sat down at the table and poured themselves glasses of juice. 'Happy birthday guys,' she said smiling. Maia and Ellie grinned. 'Happy birthday Leala,' they said in unison. 'And surprise, surprise, Ava's the last one up,' grinned Mr Fielder as Ava appeared at the door looking tired and grumpy. Maia, Ellie, Leala and their parents laughed; Ava was notorious for sleeping late. Ava frowned and collapsed into a chair, seemingly exhausted as her parents wished her happy birthday. 'Happy birthday,' she mumbled to her sisters, her eyes half shut. Everyone grinned.

Soon they were all sitting around the table, chewing happily on steamy pancakes and crispy bacon, their traditional birthday breakfast. At one point, Mrs Fielder told Ava to get the mail. 'Make Ellie get it,' she said. 'Make Ava get it,' Ellie shot back. 'Make Ellie get it.' Maia rolled her eyes. '_I'll _get it,' she declared before Ellie could retaliate. She pushed her chair away from the table and slipped into the hall. There was a letter for her father, probably bills, two envelopes address to Maia and her sisters, which had to be birthday cards. But at the bottom of the pile, there were four odd envelopes. They were identical, made of a brown parchment, making them look aged and old fashioned, as though they had been sitting in the sun for decades. There was one for each of the sisters, addressed in an emerald ink. Maia examined the one addressed to her and flipped it over. It was sealed with red wax, with an 'H' stamped into it.

Maia frowned at the letter as she wandered back into the kitchen. She closed the door quietly and dropped the pile of mail into the middle of the table, interrupting a debate Ellie had been having with her father. 'Thanks Maia,' said Mr Fielder as her retrieved his bill. He glanced curiously at the mysterious letters. 'What are those?' he asked, 'Birthday cards?' 'I-I don't know,' said Maia as her sisters each took their letter and examined it carefully. 'Well, open them!' exclaimed Mrs Fielder. The sisters glanced at each other, silently daring the others to go first. Eventually Ava shrugged and tore the letter open. '_Dear Miss Fielder,' _she read aloud_, 'We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books __and equipment. Term begins on 1__st__ September. We await your owl by no later than 31__st__ July. Yours sincerely, Filius Flitwick, Deputy Headmaster_.' There was silence for a moment. Then Maia, Ellie and Leala frantically tore open their letters, reading them hurriedly, not sure whether they should be ecstatic, terrified, or confused. Maia settled on confused as she discovered her letter read exactly as Ava's had. Witchcraft?

Leala glanced up to see a horrified expression on her parents' faces. 'This is ridiculous!' Mr Fielder said, his voice shaking. As though on cue, a giant tawny owl swooped down on the open window. Mrs Fielder screeched as the owl soared onto the table, dropping a tightly rolled piece of parchment. As if instinctively, Leala found herself feeding the owl a piece of bacon from her plate. The owl chirped happily, giving Leala an affectionate nip, before hopping to the edge of the table and sailing back through the open window. Leala looked up to see her sisters staring at her with questioning eyes. 'What?' she asked, 'She looked hungry.' Maia and Ava laughed, Ellie shook her head smiling. The girls glanced over at their parents; their father was unrolling the parchment with shaking hands. 'Read it out Dad,' Ava suggested. Their father cleared his throat. '_Dear Mr and Mrs Fielder,' _he read, his voice shaking, _'We are pleased to inform you that your daughters have been accepted into __Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, not being of a magical background yourselves, we are aware that i__t is important for you to understand the workings of our world, and that assistance be offered to your daughters in preparation for attending Hogwarts. To explain all this to you, a representative from Hogwarts School and the Wizarding Community shall visi__t you at your home this day. I look forward to meeting you in person. Sincerely, Professor Filius Flitwick, Deputy Headmaster.'_

No sooner had Mr Fielder finished reading the letter, than a loud knock came at the front door, making them all jump. 'I'll get it, shall I?' asked Ellie nervously, standing up and racing from the room. Muffled voices could be heard from the hallway as Ellie opened the door. She soon reappeared in the kitchen, with a kindly looking man in tow. The man had sandy blonde hair and a round face. He was wearing a long, deep blue cloak that fell around his ankles. He smiled warmly at the sisters and their parents. They stared at him open mouthed. 'How do you do?' he asked, extending a worn and scarred hand to Mr Fielder. Mr Fielder took his hand numbly and shook it without a word. The man laughed. 'Excuse me, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Professor Neville Longbottom, herbology teacher at Hogwarts.' Then he laughed again. 'But of course, you don't know anything about Hogwarts! But that's what I am here to explain! May I sit?' he asked politely. Maia nodded when no-one said anything. 'Excellent, thank-you!' exclaimed Professor Longbottom. He reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled out a beautifully carved wooden stick. He flicked it in the direction of a spare chair that was resting by the window. The chair came flying over to him, and he plonked down into it, looking alarmingly relaxed. He smiled upon seeing the look on the sisters' face.

'It's a wand,' he said grinning, 'So you must be the quadruplets,' he said to them, 'I take it you got your letters then?' After a short silence, Maia, who tended to become the spokesperson for the siblings, spoke. 'Yes, we did,' she answered slowly, 'Is it true? There's really such a thing as… as magic?' Professor Longbottom smiled again and nodded slightly. 'Indeed there is,' he told Maia, 'Can I ask you, all four of you, have you ever done something remarkable that you can't explain?' The sisters' eyes widened in unison as their minds shifted to the bookcase incident of the previous day. Professor Longbottom smiled again. 'Well there you have it! Now, moving on. I'm sure you and your parents have questions about Hogwarts?' It was Mr Fielder who spoke now. 'So, you're telling me that my daughters are- are _witches_?' The excitement in his voice was obvious, no matter how he tried to hide it. Professor Longbottom nodded again. Mr Fielder's grin widened, and the sisters could feel excitement bubbling in the stomachs. 'And they are going to this school, Hogwarts, to learn real _magic_?' he continued excitedly. 'No.'

The sisters and their father and Professor Longbottom turned in surprise to see that it was Mrs Fielder who had spoken so sharply. 'What?' Mr Fielder asked his wife. 'I said no,' she said, her voice edging towards anger, 'My daughters are not going to this _Hogwarts_,' she said the last word as though it was a gruesome disease, 'They're going to secondary school. Ellie is going to be a scientist, and Leala a teacher. I won't let them throw away their futures to be magicians.' The sister gapped at their mother in horror, never having heard their mother this angry. 'But Mum!' exclaimed Ava in horror, 'That's not fair, we're _witches_!' Mrs Fielder opened her mouth to retaliate, but Professor Longbottom intervened. 'I must tell you that it is extremely foolish to leave children with the level of magic your daughters' possess untrained. Magic is a dangerous ability if uncontrolled.' Mr Fielder turned to face his wife. 'You see! It's for their own safety! They have to go!' he exclaimed. Mrs Fielder leapt up abruptly, sending her chair flying backwards and clattering to the floor. The sisters and Professor Longbottom found their eyes flickering back and forth between Mr and Mrs Fielder. 'If you are going to allow our children to be raised as freaks, you can do it without me!' screamed Mrs Fielder manically before storming from the room and slamming the door with such force that the windows rattled in complaint.

The sisters stared in shock at the fallen chair their mother had just vacated, as they heard an engine rev outside. They couldn't believe what had just happened. Had their kind, gentle mother, who had tucked them in every night, who cried at the end of their childhood plays, who just that morning called them sweetheart, really just abandoned them? Was that woman who had just sent a chair flying, and slammed that door really their mother? The deafening silence was shattered by their father's now hard, determined voice. 'I'm sorry girls. You will be going to Hogwarts. With our without your mother's approval,' he told his daughters determinedly. But as Maia looked up now, she could see the fresh pain in her father's liquid brown eyes. 'So where and when am I to bring the girls to get their school supplies?' he asked Professor Longbottom, his voice shaking slightly through his faltering smile. Professor Longbottom cleared his throat, looking slightly uncomfortable. 'Ah yes. Diagon Alley, nowhere better! I can escort you, it may be hard to er- find on your own.' Mr Fielder nodded, his smile returning. 'That would be wonderful. When shall we go?' he asked. 'Does today work? I'm meant to be meeting my family there anyway.' Ellie looked up now. 'Do you have kids?' she asked curiously, 'Do they go to Hogwarts?' Professor Longbottom nodded proudly. 'Indeed they do. My son, Frank is going into fourth year and Sage into first like you four. My daughter Alice is only ten,' he said fondly. 'Right then, you four had better get ready. Busy day ahead of us!'

Obediently, the sisters rose from their chairs and raced upstairs and into their bedrooms. Maia didn't know how to feel as she pulled on dark jeans, a t-shirt and a big, loose, deep red knitted jumper and red high-tops. Eventually her excitement managed to defeat her unrecognised fury at her mother, and consume her. In the next room, Ellie was tugging on a demin skirt that fell to her knees and a purple t-shirt and purple shoes with a buckle. Her mind was going a mile a minute, attempting to comprehend the morning's events. Learning she was a witch, she would be going to a magical school and her mother walking out on the family; it was a lot to take in, even for Ellie. The room beside her, Leala's hands were trembling as she attempted to button her pale yellow cardigan over a short sleeved white shirt and white skirt that fell to just below her knees. Her mother had abandoned her. And she doubted any amount of magic could bring her back. Ava on the other hand, wasn't thinking about their mother at all. If she was only going to stand in their way, what did they want her for anyway? But deep inside a small part of Ava was seething at the betrayal, and she was subconsciously ignoring it. But as she tugged on black jeans and grey high-tops and a baggy grey t-shirt, her mind was stuck on the fact that she was a witch. A real witch. Cool.

Like clockwork, the four sisters tumbled into the small bathroom. Mechanically they brushed their teeth and washed their faces. It wasn't until they were combing out their curly hair did the thoughtful silence snap. 'How could she leave us?' Leala sobbed, collapsing onto the edge of the bath. Maia, Ava and Ellie al glanced at each other, finally forced to except what had happened; their mother had abandoned them. Instinctively, the three of them gathered around Leala. Maia and Ellie sat on either side of her and put an arm around her and Ava sat on the floor at her knees, folding her arms across them and resting her chin on her hands. 'I don't know,' Maia said slowly, 'but we'll be okay. We've got each other and Dad.' Leala sniffed and dried her eyes. 'Do you really think it'll be okay?' she asked her sisters in a whisper. 'Definitely,' Ava said determinedly, 'Besides; we're witches! What could be bad?' They all laughed before exiting the little bathroom and heading down stairs. 'There you are!' exclaimed their father, pulling them into a one armed hug, trying very hard to smile. Professor Longbottom smiled at them. 'Ready to go?' he asked. The sisters nodded; they were ready.

**AN: Hi :) Hope you liked it! Reviews would be nice, if you can. Thanks. xxx**


	2. Diagon Alley

**Chapter 2- Diagon Alley **

_**I own nothing but the sisters :)**_

'Right then, through here,' Professor Longbottom instructed them. The sisters squeezed through the narrow doorway, into a dark, dusty room. There were several dust caked wooden tables with mix-matched wooden chairs. Wooden shelves lined the walls, stacked with glasses and bottles. 'Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron,' said Professor Longbottom, 'I live here with my family. My wife is the manager, but she hasn't opened yet today I see. It's normally cleaner.' The sisters grinned as Professor Longbottom lead them and their father out the back door into a narrow alley way. As the door clicked shut behind them, the sisters realised that they were closed in by four brick wall. They glanced at each other. 'Er,' started Ava suspiciously, 'How do we get out?' Professor Longbottom chuckled and drew his wand from his pocket. He tapped the bricks in a pattern with his wand, with a groan and scratch, the bricks pulled apart to form a gateway. The sisters and their father all gasped.

In front of them stretched a winding cobbled path, walled by all kinds of magical shops. There was a Magical Menagerie with beautiful owls hanging in gold and silver cages outside. There was Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, with robes of all colours hung majestically in the window. There was a small shop tucked between the menagerie and Potage's Cauldron Shop. Its black paint was peeling and its windows needed to be cleaned. Gold letters were scrawled along the top in peeling gold paint, reading 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.' Maia smiled at the children wearing old fashioned clothes and cloaks, laughing as they ran down the alley. Ellie stared in astonishment at the bright flashes of coloured light that exploded from the ends of wands. Leala gapped at a box of books with shining red covers as they unpacked themselves into a neat pile in front of a tall bookstore. Ava appeared to be having a staring match with one of the caged owls. The walls were littered with posters on parchment, advertising everything from second hand wands to wanted criminals. Owls soared through the air with brown paper packages, parchment envelopes and newspapers. Coins jangled in the pockets of passersby and a little boy giggled as glittering stars flew from the tips of his young sister's fingers. It was a wonderful place; the sisters loved it.

'Whoa,' breathed Mr. Fielder in astonishment as he tried to take in his new surroundings. The sisters caught each other's' eye and grinned, the morning's event as good as forgotten. 'Right,' declared Professor Longbottom, clapping his hands together, 'First stop; Gringotts.' The girls glanced at each other, then their father, who shrugged. 'Er- sorry, but what's that?' Maia asked Professor Longbottom. 'Wizarding bank,' he told her, 'You'll need to change some muggle money to buy your school things.' Ellie raised her eyebrows. 'You have a different _currency_?' Ellie said in awe. Ellie and their father were keen coin collectors, and Mr. Fielder seemed just as impressed as his daughter. Professor Longbottom nodded. 'Yes. Galleons, sickles and knuts. Galleons are gold, sickles are silver and knuts are bronze. There are seventeen sickles in a galleon and twenty nine knuts in a sickle,' he told them. You could almost see the wheels turning in Ellie's head as she internalized the new information. 'So… There are four hundred and ninety three knuts in a galleon?' Ellie calculated. Professor Longbottom just grinned.

'Now here we are.' The group was standing in front of a huge, towering, white building. It had numerous pillars and a set of gigantic silver doors. 'Well, in you go,' said Professor Longbottom, ushering them through the huge doors. They tumbled into an enormous lobby. The floors were made of cold white marble and the entire domain was lined with long counters. A huge chandelier, dripping with glass and oozing sparkling crystal, hung down from the top of tall ceiling.

The sisters stared at the people behind the counter. Or, at least, they thought they were people. They faces were shriveled an etched with wrinkles. Their noses were squished and their ears were long and pointed. They had long, bony fingers that rapped the counters impatiently, with dirt trapped under their sharp, yellow nails. There were about a dozen of them in uniforms behind the counter, each with an expression that could turn milk sour. 'Um, Professor,' Maia asked nervously, 'What exactly are those… people?' she guessed. 'Goblins,' Professor Longbottom answered in a low voice, 'Not terribly friendly. Don't worry, I'll do the talking. Mr. Fielder, if you would come with me?' Mr. Fielder nodded excitedly and followed Professor Longbottom up to the counter, leaving the sisters on their own. It took about three seconds before the suppressed excitement burst and they collapsed into fits of giggles.

'This is amazing!' Ellie gushed, 'Look at all this stuff!' Her sisters nodded in enthusiastic agreement. 'So what all do we need to buy?' Ava asked. 'Hold on,' Ellie said, rummaging in her bag. 'Aha!' she exclaimed a second later, pulling out a piece of parchment. 'What's that?' asked Maia. 'The list of supplies we need. It came with the letters,' explained Ellie. 'Well read it out!' exclaimed Ava impatiently. 'Alright, alright,' said Ellie, annoyed.

'_Hogwarts Sch__ool of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

Uniform- First years will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

Set Books

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk_

A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot_

Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling_

A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch_

One thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllida Spore_

Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger_

Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander_

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _by Quentin Trimble_

Other Equipment

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set of glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set of brass scales,'

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

'Whoa,' breathed Ava, 'that's a lot of stuff.' They stared at the list in curious excitement. 'Look at all these books!' exclaimed Ellie. Her sister stared at her in bewilderment. 'What?' Ellie asked indignantly. 'Seriously Ellie, we're about to get cauldrons and broomsticks and wands, and you're excited about the _books_?' said Ava witheringly. Ellie glared at her. 'Actually we're not allowed broomsticks,' interjected Leala nervously.

'Right,' said a voice from behind them, making them jump, 'Ready to go?' The sisters nodded eagerly. 'Where are we going first?' asked Maia excitedly as they left the bank. Professor Longbottom looked thoughtful as they step back into the busy alley. 'Cauldron shop I think, that way you can carry your books and what not- oof!' Professor Longbottom lost his balance as a blur of red flew into him.

'Oh!' exclaimed a small girl with flaming red hair, 'I'm sorry Uncle Neville!' Professor Longbottom smiled at the girl as he regained his balance. 'That's okay Lily. Where are your parents?' Lily frowned. 'I don't know. James was meant to be watching me, but I turned around and he was gone!' Lily's gaze fell on the sisters and she smiled warmly at them. 'Hi,' she said happily. Professor Longbottom laughed. 'Sorry, I forgot introductions are in order. Girls, this is Lily Potter. Lily, this is Maia, Ava, Ellie and Leala Fielder, and their father. They're starting at Hogwarts this year.' Lily looked at them in awe. 'Wow, you're so lucky. I don't get to start till next year,' she said sadly, 'but my brothers, James and Albus, go. James is going into third year and Albus into second. And loads of my cousins go too. They're all in Gryffindor.'

'Lily!' Lily was interrupted by a man's voice. The group turned to see a man with jet black hair and a woman with the same flaming hair as Lily rushing towards them. 'Hi Daddy!' exclaimed Lily as the couple reached them and the man pulled her into a hug. A boy with messy black hair and hazel eyes framed by round glasses was trailing after them, looking guilty. The woman looked up at Professor Longbottom and smiled appreciatively. 'Thanks Neville. _Someone__,' _she said looking pointedly at the boy, 'was meant to be watching her.' Professor Longbottom laughed. 'No problem Ginny. She found us. Where's Al?' Ginny grinned. 'With Rose and Scorpius, where else? They were moaning because Lucy's still away.' Ginny caught Maia's eye and smiled at the sisters. 'Hello. I'm Ginny Potter. I take it you've met my daughter,' she laughed. 'They're starting at Hogwarts Mum!' exclaimed Lily, hopping from foot to foot. 'I'm helping them get their things,' Professor Longbottom told the Ginny and her husband. The man smiled. 'Oh, are you muggleborns? You're going to love Hogwarts, it's a brilliant place,' the man said fondly. 'I'm Harry Potter,' he said, shaking hands with Mr. Fielder and the sisters, 'And this is my oldest son, James,' he said, beckoning to the boy. James grinned a devious grin at them. 'Hi.'

'Well we better keep going,' said Professor Longbottom, 'See you lot later!' he said to the Potters. 'Bye!' called Lily and James waved. 'Bye girls. It was nice to meet you!' said Harry. 'Bye!' called the girls as they set off again. 'Right. Cauldrons,' declared Professor Longbottom.

An hour later, the girls had their new uniform, books and most of their equipment. All that was left was wands. 'Professor?' asked Maia as they wandered towards the wand shop, 'What's Gryffindor?' Professor Longbottom frowned at himself. 'I can't believe I forgot to explain. Once you get to Hogwarts, you are divided into four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Each house has its own dormitories and common rooms. And you go to classes with your house mates. The Potters and Weasleys- that's Ginny's family- are all in Gryffindor, and have been for generations. I was too. And I'm the head of it now, and Frank is a Gryffindor too,' he said proudly. Ellie looked thoughtful. 'How do they decide what house you're in?' she asked. Professor Longbottom grinned. 'That's a surprise.'

The group came to a halt in front of the wand shop. 'Go ahead girls,' said Mr. Fielder, 'I'll meet you in a few minutes. Professor Longbottom is going to help me with something,' he grinned deviously. The sisters glanced at each other suspiciously. 'Okay,' agreed Maia carefully, 'We'll see you later.'

The girls waved to their father and Professor Longbottom and shoved open the stiff door with a creak. A bell tinkled metallically as the girls stepped into the dark shop. It was quite small, and smelt of must. There was a long wooden counter that was dirty and darkened with age. Behind the counter stood row upon row of shelves, bulging with narrow rectangular boxes. There wasn't a person in sight. The sister's glanced at each other nervously. 'Um… Hello?' Maia called. There was no reply.

Ava's eye fell on a dented, tarnished bell on the counter. She smiled at herself before stepping up to the counter and ringing it shrilly. In a split second a ladder zoomed through a row of shelves, making the whole place shake. A withered looking man was perched atop of the ladder, his wispy white hair poking out in every direction. His wide eyes bored into Ava's, who was still standing at the counter. His eyes flickered over the sisters. 'First years?' he asked Ava. She nodded, speechless for the first time in her life.

The man clambered down the rickety ladder and stepped up to the counter. 'Four of you? Sisters?' he asked, eyeing them carefully. Ava nodded, regaining her voice. 'Yeah. Quadruplets.' The man nodded. 'I see. I am Ollivander. Now, step up here and we'll measure you. Which is your wand arm?' The sisters glanced at each other. 'Erm, well we're… what was it? Oh yeah, muggle borns,' Maia explained nervously. Ollivander nodded again. 'Well which arm do you write with?' 'My left,' Maia answered, 'We all do.' Ollivander nodded yet again. 'Well this is convenient. I'll only have to measure one of you. Who wants to do it?' Maia stepped forward, as she always did in this kind of position. Ollivander pulled his own wand from his pocket and flicked it sharply. A small tape measurer flew to him. He tapped it with his wand and it proceeded to measure Maia's arm.

A few minutes later, when Maia was completely measured, Ollivander put the measurer down on the counter and eyed the sisters critically, his bright eyes flickering between them. 'Hmm…' he pondered. 'Wait here.' He shuffled back into the rows of shelves, and returned with a stack of boxes. He tugged the lid from one of them and handed it to Leala, who looked terrified. 'Cherry wood, dragon heart string,' he told her expectantly. Leala glanced at Maia, who shrugged. 'Well give it a wave!' said Ollivander impatiently. Leala gave the wand a small swish. A flash of light flew from the end of it, and the grubby curtains ignited in a burst of red flames. The sisters jumped and Leala stuttered a frantic apology. 'Never mind, never mind, these things happen. Not the right fit apparently,' he mused, sending a jet of water from the end of his own wand, and putting out the fire. He skimmed over the stack of boxes on the counter, then glanced at Leala and disappeared back into the shelves. Leala shot her sisters a terrified glance, and they shrugged helplessly.

'Now, I think this might do the trick,' Ollivander said, returning with a single box. He placed it on the counter and tugged the lid off. 'This one's made of rosewood. Not a wood I use very often, only two or three times. Unicorn hair, twelve and a half inches,' he said, handing the new wand to Leala. Leala took the wand carefully, worried about starting another fire.

But as soon as she wrapped her fingers around it, her hand started to tinkle, and comforting warmth swept through her entire body. She stared in amazement as the tip of the wand glowed a warm gold. Ollivander beamed. 'Perfect!' he declared as Leala admired her wand. The wood was pale, and the handle had a narrow band of shimmering white pearl at the top and bottom. Delicate floral patterns spiraled up the body. It was beautiful, Leala thought happily.

'Now, you try this one, young lady,' said Ollivander, handing Ellie a dark brown wand. Feeling slightly nervous, Ellie obediently flicked the wand. With an ear splitting crack, the window shattered, hurtling shards of glass across the room. 'Nope,' said Ollivander as Ellie gingerly place the wand back on the counter. 'Try this,' Ollivander instructed her, handing her another wand 'Twelve and a half inches, same as your sisters. Willow wood, dragon heartstring.'

Ellie took the wand, and straight away she knew it was the right one. Her hand felt warm and fuzzy, and she was overcome with a lightness that made her feel like she was floating. The wand sent sparks of silver and white flying from its tip. 'Very good,' said Ollivander, satisfied as he turned his attentions to Maia as Ellie admired her new wand. The wood was a pale yellowish brown, and unlike Leala's, it had no handle, instead getting gradually thicker from the tip to the end. On either side, tiny detailed symbols, carved into the wood, stretched from the end to the tip. Each symbol had been gone over in silver paint. Ellie loved it.

Ollivander was eyeing Maia curiously, eyebrows furrowed. Again, he turned and wandered back between the towering shelves. After much rummaging, he reappeared with a dust coated box. He took the wand from the box, and regarded it with a look the sisters couldn't read. 'This was one on the first wands I ever made. Twelve and a half inches, phoenix I tried it on dozens of witches and wizards, but it didn't work at all. I gave up around thirty years ago, but I just have a feeling…'

Maia took the wand, and was surprised when her hand instinctively wrapped around it. As soon as it was in her grasp, Maia felt a rush of warm air rush around her, rustling through her flaming curls. A row of candles on the counter ignited gracefully and the wand glowed happily. 'Wonderful! Simply fantastic!' exclaimed Ollivander, clapping his wrinkled claws together in delight. Maia stared at the wand in awe. The wood was a deep reddish brown, and the handle, a dark brown. At the base of the wand, just above the handle, there was around two inches of a carefully carved feathery pattern. Maia couldn't stop looking at it.

Ollivander was looking hard at Ava now. His expression was a mixture of curious and puzzled. He stared silently for a good five minutes, before wandering purposefully back into the shelves. But he didn't stop there. He dove deeper into the shop, and the girls the sound a scrapping metal as he unlocked a stiff black door at the back of the room. The sister waited expectantly as he rummaged in the back of the shop. Minutes later he appeared, clutching a wand tightly; it wasn't even in a box. He held it up to the light and examined it closely.

'This was an experiment,' he told the sisters, 'It's made with werewolf hair, a core I've never used before. Twelve and a half inches. The wood is hawthorn,' he said, before handing it to Ava. Ava took it excitedly. It was smooth and black, and felt soft and cool in her hand. White sparks leapt from the tip, as though in celebration and her hand seemed to stir in excitement. It had no handle, and it was a square shape, getting gradually thicker from the tip to the end, like Ellie's. Thin, intricate silver lines spiraled over the entire body. 'Whoa,' Ava breathed.

The sisters tore their eyes away from their wands long enough to thank and pay Mr. Ollivander. 'Now remember girls,' he called as they opened the door to leave, 'Those wands are special, in ways we don't yet know, all of them. Use them well.' And with that he disappeared back into the shelves. The sisters glanced at each other and tried not to shudder as they slipped from the shop. What a strange old man.

'Look, there's Dad!' exclaimed Ellie, 'What's he doing with those…' Happy birthday girls,' smiled Mr. Fielder. The sister's jaws dropped in unison. In front of them were four owls in silver cages. A snowy white one, a jet black one, a barn owl and a tawny owl. 'Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!' they exclaimed in delight, and raced to stroke them through the bars.

Suddenly, Professor Longbottom appeared behind them, grinning. 'So,' he asked, 'Ready for Hogwarts?' The sisters grinned and nodded excitedly. 'Bring it on,' declared Ava.

**AN: So? What do you think? Any good? Reviews appreciated! xxx**


	3. The Hogwarts Express

**Chapter 3 – The Hogwarts Express **

_**Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise is mine .**_

The next six weeks were the slowest weeks of the sisters' lives. All they could think about was starting at Hogwarts. Ellie had read all the text books from cover to cover, and even Ava had skimmed through a couple of them. What they most wanted to do was try out their wands, but Professor Longbottom had already warned them about the laws that forbade people under seventeen from doing magic outside Hogwarts. Of course, their mood wasn't helped by the fact that they hadn't seen or heard of their mother since their birthday.

At long last, it was the last day of August, the day before they left for Hogwarts. Maia was perched on the edge of her bed, stroking her tawny owl, Henry, through the bars of his cage as she stared distractedly out the window. Her mind, for a change, was not on Hogwarts, but her father. How was he going to cope on his own?

She sighed and pulled herself from her bed and glanced around her immaculately clean room. She had decided to leave it tidy while they were away. Clothes she wasn't bringing were washed and put away in her wardrobe, books were in order on the shelf and her cacti were freshly watered. She'd cleaned the windows, changed the bed clothes and swept and washed the floor. It was spotless. Of course, Leala's looked like that all the time, but what could you do? All that was left out was her new school trunk, that just needed her tooth brush and things put into it. Maia smiled to herself; she was ready.

Down the hall, Maia's sisters were working too. Ellie was reading _Hogwarts: A History_, a book she'd purchased in Diagon Alley, her trunk open beside her, waiting for her few remaining possessions. Leala was finishing up the cushion she'd been sewing, her trunk packed too. Ava, however, was busy folding her new uniform and stacking textbooks, regretting having left it until the last minute. Comet, Ava's black owl, was hooting in amusement as Ava frantically threw things into her trunk.

Ava was just deliberating between which snow globe she should bring, when a shout came from downstairs. 'Girls!' shouted their father, 'Dinner!' The sisters stopped their packing and raced down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mr. Fielder was scooping spaghetti onto plates as they entered. 'Mm, smells great Dad,' said Leala as she took her place.

Mr. Fielder smiled fondly at them as he took his seat. 'Last meal together,' he mused a little sadly. The sisters exchanged a glance. 'Dad…' Ellie started slowly, 'Are you going to be okay?' Maia finished, and Ava and Leala nodded in mutual concern. Mr. Fielder looked carefully at his daughters before sighing and laying down his knife and fork. 'Girls, what happened with your mother isn't your fault. You know that don't you?' The sisters glanced at each other before nodding. Mr. Fielder nodded in satisfaction. 'Good. And don't worry about me. I'll be fine. But I _will _miss you.' 'We'll miss you too Dad,' said Leala gently. Mr. Fielder smiled softly at Leala.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Mr. Fielder cleared his throat. 'Your mother still loves you. She always will. And so will I,' he said quietly. Ellie suddenly became very interested in her food, Leala blinked furiously, in a vain attempt to hold back the tears that were welling in her eyes and Ava fiddled with her sleeves. But it was Maia who spoke. 'No she doesn't,' she said matter-of-factly, a trace of bitterness laced in her voice. 'Maia,' Mr. Fielder began, but Maia uncharacteristically cut him off. 'If she loved us she wouldn't have left. Maybe she never did.'

Leala gasped, Ellie nearly choked and even Ava looked shocked as her jaw dropped. Mr. Fielder stared carefully at her. 'Maia,' he tried, but Maia cut him off again. 'Excuse me, I'm full,' she said quickly, pushing her chair away from the table with a screech and rushing from the room.

Maia could feel the tears forming in her eyes as she clambered up the stairs and into her bedroom. But she refused to let them fall. She closed her door quietly and threw herself down onto her bed, biting her lip. Henry hooted in his cage but she ignored him. She swung her legs around and lay on her back on her bed. She stared at the ceiling in silence for a few minutes, before an idea struck her. She leapt off the bed and threw open the unlocked lid of her trunk and pulled out her wand from the top layer of packing. They were going to carry their wands with them on the train tomorrow, so she'd left it near the top.

As soon as she picked it up, a comforting warmth washed over her like a blanket. The wand stirred and her hand tingled, happy to be reunited. Immediately, she felt better. After a few minutes of relishing the comforting warmth and the cool smoothness of the wood, she placed it carefully into the bag she was bringing on the train.

She sat back down on her bed and exhaled deeply. She was going to be strong. She was the oldest after all, even if only by three minutes. She flopped backwards on her bed and closed her eyes. Later that evening, when her sisters and then her father knocked on her door, she was back to her old self, and apologized with a confident smile.

None of the sisters slept well that night, but it had nothing to do with their mother; they were just too excited. As they finally started to sleep into sleep, at around three o'clock, their heads were full of images of cauldrons and wands and broomsticks. The morning couldn't come quick enough.

In reality, the morning came far too soon, and when their alarms rang at seven o'clock, the sound was piercing, and the stream of sunlight that seeped in through the gap in the curtains was blinding. Ava groaned and rolled back over, before remembering what day it was, and leaping out of her warm bed. Leala slipped out of bed on the first ring; she'd always been good at getting up. Ellie rubbed her eyes sleepily, then smiled to herself and tumbled out of bed in excitement. Maia grinned before she opened her eyes, and got out of bed faster than ever before.

An hour later, the family was in the car on the way to London (luckily they had had two cars). The girls couldn't sit still for the whole journey. It seemed to take double the time it usually did to get to London.

But at long last, they pulled up outside the station, and the sisters tumbled out of the car. 'Hey, look, there's Professor Longbottom!' exclaimed Ellie as Mr. Fielder helped them unload their trunks from the car. Professor Longbottom was standing at the entrance to the station, easily visible in a shimmering teal, ankle length cloak, among the crowds of muggles in black and grey suits. He smiled and waved as he saw the sisters and their father approaching.

'Morning girls!' he greeted them, and shook Mr. Fielder' hand. 'Morning Professor,' they greeted him happily as the stepped inside the station and found trolleys for their trunks and owls. It was a bright morning, the sun lazily glaring through the thin sheet of fluffy clouds. They group made their way through the crowds of men and woman in suits, and children in school uniforms. Wheels of prams, suitcases and trolleys were trundling along the bumpy stone platform, and trains departed with a consuming whoosh.

Professor Longbottom came to a stop in between platforms nine and ten. 'Which platform is it Professor?' asked Ellie, glancing around for someone else that be a Hogwarts student. A slight grin washed over Professor Longbottom's face 'Do you have your tickets?' he asked them, still grinning slightly. The girls looked expectantly at their father, who frowned slightly, then smiled in remembrance, and tugged an envelope out of his coat pocket.

'There we are,' he said, handing a greenish blue tinted ticket to each of his daughters. Their eyes widened then settled into a confused stare as they read the number on the ticket. 'Platform nine and three quarters?' asked Ellie curiously. Professor Longbottom grinned. 'Yep. I should warn you though, getting onto the platform is an… interesting experience. I'll go first. Just copy me, okay?' And with that, he turned, checked to make sure no one was watching, then walked up to the solid brick barrier between platforms nine and ten. And kept going.

It took the sisters and their father a minute to internalize what had just happened. 'Did he just…' Ellie started, 'Walk through solid rock?' offered Maia, 'Why, yes I believe he did,' finished Ava. 'Right, let's do this in pairs,' said Maia, 'I'll go with Ellie, Ava you go with Leala. Dad,' but Mr. Fielder cut her off. 'Um, girls, I think I'll say good bye now. I'm not sure I have the stomach for this,' he said guiltily.

The sisters looked at their father, unsure what to say. 'Have fun,' he told them, giving them each a tight hug, 'I love you, and I'm proud of you.' Maia, Ellie and Ava all felt their chests tighten slightly and a lump swell in their throats. Tears were sliding down Leala's rose dusted cheeks. 'I'll see you at Christmas,' he promised them, 'Now quick or you'll miss the train.'

The sisters nodded. 'Who first?' Ellie asked. 'Me and Leala will go first,' Ava said confidently, 'Come on Leala.' Leala gave her father a small wave. 'Bye Dad,' said Ava. Leala and Ava exchanged a silent glance and ran at the barrier with their trolleys. And they were gone.

Maia inhaled shakily and Ellie gulped slightly. 'Bye Daddy,' whispered Maia and Ellie just nodded. Mr. Fielder smiled. 'Bye girls.' Ellie and Maia exchanged a glance as Leala and Ava had, and ran full tilt at the barrier. As the solid brick wall advanced, Maia squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the impact. There was a rush of air and everything went dark.

Maia and Ellie dared to open their eyes. Ava and Leala stood in front of them grinning. The scene behind them was enveloped by a thick blanket of puffy white steam. But behind the steam, the sisters could just make out the silhouette of the huge, scarlet steam train.

'There you are,' said Professor Longbottom from behind the steam, making them jump. 'Where's your dad?' he asked them. 'He decided to say good bye on the other platform,' Maia explained. Professor Longbottom chuckled. 'Understandable. Come on, I'll help you with your trunks.'

The sisters followed Professor Longbottom threw the hordes of witches and wizards that were clustered on the platform. The air was full with the sounds of good byes, children's laughter and the occasional whine from younger siblings. 'I want to go _now!_' someone whined, in a voice Maia recognized. She turned to see the flaming red hair of Lily Potter. Lily caught Maia eye, grinned and waved madly. Maia grinned and waved back before turning back to follow her sisters and Professor Longbottom.

'Right,' said Professor Longbottom, as they came to a halt at the end on the train, 'Leave your trunks and owls and I'll get them loaded up for you. Go and find a compartment.' He smiled at them, 'See you at Hogwarts!'

The sisters grinned and thanked him, before making their way back down the platform. They weaved their way through the crowds, until they reached a hopeful looking carriage. 'This one?' Maia asked. The sister nodded in agreement, and clambered into the scarlet steam train. 'We should find a compartment,' said Maia, and they edged their way down the carriage, looking for a free compartment, but most of them were full.

They heard the sound of feet rapidly hitting the rickety floor before they saw their owners. 'James Sirius Potter come back here right now or I'll hex you to oblivion!' a girls voice yelled as James Potter tore down the carriage past the sisters, without even seeing them. He threw back his head and laughed as he ran. 'Yeah right Luce, course you will,' he laughed. A girl with the same flaming hair as Lily, but shorter hurtled past the sisters, her freckled face bright red. 'James!' she screamed again as they disappeared down the carriage.

Maia laughed, Leala giggled, Ellie shook her head and Ava grinned. They continued down the corridor, until they eventually found a free compartment. Ellie slid open the door and they slipped inside. They collapsed down onto the seats, already exhausted, as the train let out an enormous whoosh as it began to pull away from the platform. They could hear final goodbyes being called from the corridors and platform, and then the shrill whistle of the train as they began to gather speed.

Ava stared out the window, Ellie took out a book, and Leala closed her eyes and snuggled into a corner. Maia reached into her bag and retrieved her wand, spinning it in her fingers. She smiled as gold sparks flew from its tip. She looked at the window as the scenery changed to blurs of green and yellow as they speed through fields. Maia could feel her eye lids growing heavier as she stared out the window, and before long she sank into sleep.

Maia yawned and stretched her arms as the compartment came back into focus. Leala was awake, flicking through a copy of a wizards newspaper that she had found on the luggage rack. Ellie was reading _Hogwarts: A History _again, and Ava was absent mindedly tilting a snow globe back and forth, lost in the artificial blizzard. Maia glanced at her watch; she had been asleep for almost two hours.

'I'm going for a walk,' she decided standing up. 'Kay,' said Leala. Ava waved her hand slightly, and Ellie grunted, not taking her eyes from her book. Maia nodded, and then slipped from the compartment. She wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing, and suddenly she was knocked to the floor with a thud.

'Hey! Are you okay?' came a voice from above her. Maia looked up to see a girl around her age looking down at her, her liquid gold eyes tinted with concern. 'Yeah, I find,' stuttered Maia as the girl held out a dark hand. Maia took it and the girl pulled her off the floor.

Her hair looked almost exactly the same as Maia's, flaming red and curly. She was the same height as Maia and had the unusual combination of warm, soft brown skin, and red hair. Her golden eyes were big and round and she had thick, white eyelashes and her face was dusted with freckles. She was really very pretty.

'Sorry,' she said as Maia regained her balanced, 'Wasn't looking where I was going.' Maia smiled, 'No, it was my fault, I wasn't paying attention.' The girl grinned. 'I'm Roxanne,' she said warmly. Maia grinned back, 'I'm Maia.' 'Hi,' Roxanne said with a laugh. 'Want to meet my sisters?' Maia asked, gesturing to the compartment. 'Sure!' said Roxanne happily. Maia grinned and slid the door open, and the two of them slipped inside.

'That was fast,' said Ava, looking up from her snow globe. 'Hi?' she tried as she spotted Roxanne. 'Hi,' said Roxanne. 'Guys, this is Roxanne. Roxanne, these are my sisters, Ava, Leala and Ellie,' said Maia gesturing to each of her sisters in turn. 'Hi,' the chorused. Roxanne grinned, 'Are you quadruplets?' she asked and they nodded. 'Wicked,' she said grinning.

'So what houses do you guys want to be in?' Roxanne asked them. They exchanged a glance. 'Well, to be honest, we don't know… We're… What was it?' asked Maia. 'Muggleborns,' supplied Ellie. 'Right,' said Maia. Roxanne grinned again. 'Brilliant. What did your parents think?' Leala looked at the floor, Ellie snorted and Maia scuffed the floor with her trainer. 'Our father was ecstatic,' said Ava coolly, 'and our mother left.'

A frown wafted over Roxanne's, then changed to a look of horror as the realization set in. 'Oh Merlin. I'm sorry, I didn't mean...' But Maia cut her off, 'No don't worry, it's fine.' Roxanne gave her a small, apologetic smile. 'Merlin?' Ellie asked looking bemused. Roxanne laughed, and the five of them sank into conversation.

'I hope I'm in Gryffindor. My whole family has been there since forever,' explained Roxanne. 'What are the differences between the houses?' asked Ava curiously. 'Well, they value different things. Gryffindors are meant to be courageous and brave, Ravenclaws are smart, Hufflepuffs are loyal and fair, and Slytherins are cunning and ambitious. And maybe a little bit evil,' said Roxanne.

Leala looked worried. 'What if we're all in different houses?' she fretted. 'Well, I'd say at least two of you will be in the same house. Muggleborns generally don't get into Slytherin. It's ridiculously prejudice against anyone who isn't pureblood. But there are hardly any purebloods left. I'm a half blood, same as all my cousins.'

Maia was about to ask what exactly a pureblood was when a loud, hollow knock came at the door. 'Hey Lysander,' Roxanne greeted a boy with tussled sandy blonde hair. He was in his uniform, or at least part of it, a red and gold tie hanging untied around his neck, his shirt sleeves unbutton and rolled to his elbows. 'Hey Roxy. Seen James and Fred anywhere?' Roxanne shook her head, her curls bouncing. 'No, sorry.' Lysander grinned, 'No worries,' he assured her before popping back out of the compartment.

'James?' asked Maia, 'James Potter?' 'Yep,' said Roxanne, looking vaguely surprised, 'Have you met him?' Maia nodded. 'Yeah we meet him in Diagon Alley, with his parents and sister. He was running through the corridors earlier, being chased by…' 'Lucy?' guessed Roxanne with a smile. 'Yeah, that was it!' said Maia, 'Do you know them?' Roxanne grinned. 'Oh yes. They're my cousins. There are twelve of us. Well thirteen if you count Teddy.' 'Is Lily the only one not at Hogwarts?' asked Leala. Roxanne shook her head. 'No. Hugo's her age too, so he hasn't started yet either. They're inseparable. Victoire finished last year and Teddy the year before.'

There was another knock at the door. It was James, with a frightened looking girl with long, sleek black hair in ponytail, trailing behind him. 'Why hello Roxy dearest,' he greeted his cousin, 'and these must be the lovely Fielder sisters, yes?' Roxanne raised an eyebrow. 'Dearest? What do you want James?' she asked suspiciously. James grabbed the shoulder of the girl behind him and shoved her into the compartment. 'Mind my darling cousin Violet here,' he said. 'Second cousin,' Violet mumbled, staring at the floor. 'Whatever,' said James, glancing at her, 'Anyway, you lot will be in the same year, so play nice,' he instructed them as he slipped back out of the compartment. 'Lysander's looking for you!' Roxanne shouted after him. 'Kay!' James called back.

'Sit down Violet,' offered Leala, gesturing to a spare seat. 'Thanks,' Violet mumbled, sitting down next to Ellie. 'So, you're a Dursley, right?' asked Roxanne. Violet nodded, and then smirked slightly. 'Unfortunately,' she said. Roxanne grinned. 'I'm Roxanne, James's cousin. And these are Maia, Ellie, Ava and Leala. They're muggleborns too.' Violet looked slightly relieved as she looked up and smiled.

The girls chattered away, their excitement building as they got closer to Hogwarts. They got changed into their uniforms shortly after lunch. 'Your jumper, tie and cloak change once you get sorted,' Roxanne explained as she tied a plain black tie with the Hogwarts emblem. 'What are the house colours?' asked Ellie as she laced up her black shoes. 'Gryffindor is red and gold, Ravenclaw is blue and bronze, Slytherin is green and silver and Hufflepuff is yellow and black.'

'Anything from the trolley dears?' came a frail, sweet voice from the corridor. The girls whirled around to see a small, plump, elderly witch pushing a cart piled with candy of all shapes and sizes. The group walked up to the cart, and Roxanne turned to the others. 'Have you guys ever had any of this stuff?' she asked them, and all five of them shook their heads. She grinned and turned back to the elderly witch. 'Can I have six chocolate frogs, two packs of every-flavored-beans and six cauldron cakes, please?' Roxanne said to the old witch. 'My treat,' she added as the others began to root in their pockets.

'Thanks Roxanne,' said Maia appreciatively as the witch handed Roxanne the candy and they sat back down. 'You're welcome,' said Roxanne with a smile, 'and call me Roxy.' Maia grinned. 'Right.'

The scene outside began to blacken as they munched their snacks. 'Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans?' said Ellie curiously, examining the box of beans. Roxanne grinned. 'Careful. There's some really gross ones,' she warned. Ellie selected an orange one and popped it into her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully for a minute. 'Marmalade?' she guessed. Everyone laughed. 'Throw them here,' said Ava, and Ellie chucked her the box.

The six of them were so engrossed in their 'guess the bean' game, that they didn't even notice when the train came to a stop until a blonde haired boy stuck his head around the door. 'Uh, Roxy?' he said, smiling at the startled look on the girls' faces, 'We're here.' Roxanne glanced out the window. 'Oh Merlin!' she exclaimed, 'Thanks Scorpius!' Scorpius grinned. 'No problem. Hey Al! Wait for me!' he called as he ran down the corridor.

They girls rushed around the compartment, gathering their things, and then raced out of the compartment and onto the platform. The cool night's air hit their faces in a refreshing breeze. 'Firs' years, this way!' boomed a voice above the crowd of students. Roxanne turned to Maia, her golden eyes shining in the dark, grinning. 'We're here!'

**AN: Hi, sorry it took a while, hadda mind a three year old :) Anyway, hope you liked it, I couldn't resist putting in a Dursley. Review please! Critism is cool too! :) xxx**


	4. The Sorting

**Chapter 4- The Sorting**

**Disclaimer: I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling, and therefore, I do not own these characters (But the sisters were my own creation ;)).**

'Firs' Years, this way!' a deep voice boomed. The six girls weaved their way through the busy platform in the direction of the voice. 'Hi Hagrid!' Roxanne greeted the owner of the voice happily. The five others peered in front of them, searching for a face to pair with the voice. 'Whoa,' breathed Ellie, and elbowed Maia and Ava, who were on either side of her. 'What?' asked Maia, as she and Ava glanced at Ellie. 'Look up,' she said quietly.

Maia and Ava looked up, to see the bearded face of a huge man, about eight or nine feet tall. He was dressed in a big, thick brown coat that was patched at the elbows. The bottom half of his face was shroud by an unruly black beard that was flecked with gray, as was the mess of black hair that descended to his shoulder blades.

He beamed when he saw Roxanne. 'Hello Roxy! How are ye'? Excited?' Roxanne grinned. 'Yep. This is Maia, Ava, Leala and Ellie Fielder, and Violet Dursley.' Hagrid smiled warmly at them. 'Dursley?' he asked Violet, 'Dudley's daughter?' Violet smiled weakly. 'Only by blood,' she said firmly. Hagrid chuckled. 'Glad ter hear it, if I'm being honest. Right, inter the boats with ye'.'

The group wandered over to where a bunch of other first years were waiting by the dock. 'Is there anyone you _don't _know?' Ava asked Roxanne with raised eyebrows. Roxanne smiled. 'Oh, I'm sure there's a few.'

'Hey! Roxy!' came a voice, as though on cue, 'Wait a sec.' A boy with the same red hair and dark skin as Roxanne was running up to them, bright blue eyes shining in the dark. He was out of breath from running, and tugged at the red and gold tie around his neck. 'There you are,' he panted. 'Anyway, I just wanted to say good luck, and if you're not in Gryffindor, you're off my Christmas card list.'

Roxanne shot him a funny look, trying not to laugh. 'Okay Fred, one; you don't have a Christmas card list, and two; I'm your sister, so I wouldn't be on it if you did.' Fred grinned. 'Oh, yeah. Anyway, see you later; I suppose I'll keep you, even if you don't make Gryffindor.' Roxanne rolled her eyes. 'Bye Fred.' With a final grin, Fred raced back up the path leading from the station to where the carriages were waiting to take the older students to the school.

'Right, we got everyone?' asked Hagrid, clomping over to the first years, 'Great. Right, four ter a boat.' 'You guys go together,' Roxanne encouraged the sisters, 'Me and Violet will go with each other. Oh, hey Sage,' Roxanne greeted a boy with dirty blonde hair. Maia thought she saw Ava roll her eyes; Roxanne really did seem to know everyone.

In the end, Roxanne, Violet and Sage went with Hagrid in the first boat, and the sisters in the one behind. 'Sage…,' mused Leala as they clambered into the rickety boat, 'Professor Longbottom's so, do you think? He said he had a son called Sage, remember?'

'Forward!' commanded Hagrid and the boats lurched forward across the dark lake. Maia found herself staring into the icy depths of the black water as the boats glided along the lake. 'Look out now, and you'll be able ter see the castle in just a mo',' shouted Hagrid.

Sure enough, the great castle was drifting into view around the jagged cliff side. The sisters gasped in unison as they got the first proper glimpse of their new home. It was beautiful. Tall towers stretched to the stars and the pane glass windows that speckled the side of the castle glittered and shone with the moon light. They were still staring at the castle in wonder, when the boats thudded into the dock. 'Right, everyone out!' shouted Hagrid.

Roxanne and Violet hurried back over to the sisters as the clambered out of the boat, Sage in tow. 'Do you guys know Sage?' Roxanne asked them, as the seven of them tromped after Hagrid, up the grassy bank towards the castle. 'We meet your Dad, I think,' Maia said to him, 'Professor Longbottom right?' Sage smiled and nodded, 'Yeah, that's right. He teaches herbology here. So you four are the muggleborns he was escorting?' he asked them. Maia nodded and Sage chuckled. 'He was very proud of himself when McGonagall asked him to do it. You should have seen his expression,' Sage grinned. They all laughed as they reached the huge, heavy wooden doors of the castle, and Hagrid threw them open with deafening screech.

They piled into the grand hall, taking in the tall ceiling, colourful moving paintings, and elaborate, stone staircases, that were twisting and turning in every which way. Professor Longbottom was standing at the top of one of the staircases. 'Welcome to Hogwarts,' he said smiling. 'I am Professor Longbottom, head of Gryffindor. Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your class mates, but before you take your seats you will be sorted into your houses. They are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Gryffindor. Now, if you will follow me.' He beckoned them to follow him, and he led them through a pair of great double doors, and into the great hall. Again the sisters gasped, as did Violet, and even Roxanne and Sage. The brilliant deep blue, star speckled sky spread across the ceiling. It was beautiful.

They shuffled their way through the long house tables and Roxanne giggled as she caught sight of her brother and cousins waving madly at her from the Gryffindor table. The procession came to a stop. They were in the middle of the group, but Maia could just make out an old, battered and torn hat, sitting atop of an equally battered wooden stool.

Suddenly, a fold in the hat opened, and began to sing shrilly. Roxanne giggled and Sage grinned as the sisters and Violet jumped at the piercing sound.

_'Come, sit, have a seat, _

_I'm a talking hat, isn't that a feat?'_

'_But I do more than sing this song,_

_I can show you where you belong.'_

'_Maybe you're a Gryffindor, _

_If your bravery does swell,'_

'_If you're full of courage,_

_In Gryffindor you'll do well,'_

'_Perhaps you'd fit in Ravenclaw,_

_Where intelligence is prized,'_

'_If you are of keen wit and mind, _

_In Ravenclaw you'll find your kind,'_

'_And let us not forget Hufflepuff,_

_Where the loyal doth reside,'_

'_If you are fair and true,_

_Then it's Hufflepuff for you,'_

'_And of course there is old Slytherin,_

_Where determination strives,'_

'_And if your cunning knows no end,_

_You're a Slytherin, my friend.'_

'_So, come, let me have a peek,_

_You don't even have to speak,'_

'_Just place me on your head,_

_So I can see your mind,'_

'_And soon, you shall see,_

_I'll sort you with your kind!'_

The Great Hall burst into applause as the song came to a close. Professor Longbottom stepped onto the podium, a long scroll of parchment clutched in his hand. 'Now, when I call your name, you are to come forward and sit on the stool, I shall place the sorting hat on your head an you will be sorted into your houses. Jasper Adams!'

A boy with thick, dark brown hair stumbled nervously up the steps and collapsed onto the little stool. 'Hmm…' pondered the hat, 'Yes, okay, very good. HUFFLEPUFF!' The Hufflepuff table burst into applause as Jasper leapt from the stool and hurried towards his new house mates as Professor Longbottom called the next name.

'Margo Bones!' 'HUFFLEPUFF!' 'Naomi Boot!' 'RAVENCLAW!' 'Eugenia Bronte!' 'SLYTHERIN!' Evelyn Braxton!' 'SLYTHERIN!' 'Daisy Corner!' 'HUFFLEPUFF!' 'Myriah Creevey!' 'GRYFFINDOR!' 'Julian Deveron!' 'SLYTHERIN!'

'Violet Dursley!' Violet paled, then blushed as a buzz of chatter swept across the hall. Roxanne and Maia gave her a gentle push forward, and she stumbled up to the podium, almost tripping over her feet. 'Hmm…' said the hat as Professor Longbottom dropped it over her eyes, 'Dursley, eh? Not a name I expected to see, but no matter, let's see what we have here…' The hat grew quiet, as did the great hall. 'Hmm… Interesting, very interesting,' mused the hat, 'Better be…GRYFFINDOR!'

The Gryffindor table burst into applause, and Violet grinned as she hurried towards the table, flushed with delight. Maia, Roxanne, Sage, Ellie, Ava and Leala all clapped too, as Professor Longbottom read out the next name;

'Ava Fielder!' Ava made a face, before slipping through the other first years and sitting down gingerly on the stool. Professor Longbottom smiled at her before dropping the hat on over her black curls.

'Well, well, well. What do we have here?' came a voice in her head, making her squirm slightly. 'Are you… in my mind?' she thought. 'Something like that,' replied the voice, and Ava realized that no-one else could hear the hat, 'And what a fine mind it is,' mused the hat. Ava snorted. 'Uh-huh,' she thought sarcastically. 'But it is,' argued the hat, 'I see a quick wit, a trait valued by Ravenclaw, but you're definitely not a Ravenclaw, no… A nasty temper I see. Hmm… rather sly are you?' Ava shrugged, 'Yeah, I suppose.' 'Hmm… what's this anger and resentment I'm seeing?' Ava snorted again. 'What are you, a psychiatrist?' she asked it. 'I don't know, could be at my mother, I guess. She abandoned us when she found out we were 'freaks' as she put it. But I don't care. I don't need her. I can do anything I want with my life, she doesn't need to approve.' 'Well,' said the hat, 'that's determination if ever I saw it. I think you'll fit nicely in…' 'SLYTHERIN!' the hat roared aloud. Ava smirked slightly as she vacated the stool and handed the hat back to a surprised looking Professor Longbottom, and walked towards the cheering Slytherins. 'A Slytherin,' she thought, as she sat down next to the other first years, 'Something no-one thought I could be. Perfect.'

Back in the huddle of first years, Maia elbowed Roxanne. 'I thought you said muggleborns couldn't be Slytherins,' she hissed over the applause. Roxanne shrugged helplessly. 'First time for everything?' she offered meekly. Maia laughed a little, but found she wasn't able to let go of what Roxanne had said earlier, about Slytherins being evil.

'Ellie Fielder!' called Professor Longbottom. Ellie paled slightly, then took a deep breath and walked shakily up to the podium and sat carefully on the stool. Professor Longbottom gave her a small smile as he slipped the hat over her blonde curls.

'Another Fielder?' asked the hat. 'Yep.' Ellie thought. 'There are four of us.' 'Hmm…' mused the hat, 'Your sister was surprised to hear me in her head but you don't seem surprised at all.' 'No, I knew that's what you do, I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History._' Ellie explained. 'I see… well you seem to be extremely different from your sister, is that correct?' asked the hat. 'Yep,' thought Ellie, 'Chalk and cheese.' 'That's an interesting expression,' said the hat, 'Where did you learn that?' 'I read it in a book a few years ago,' Ellie told the hat. 'Hmm…' pondered the hat, 'Well, you definitely have a good mind, buckets of intelligence, you'll do well in your studies, I can see that. I think you'll be valued highly in…' 'RAVENCLAW!' Ellie smiled, as she took the hat off and handed it back to Professor Longbottom who smiled widely at her. She practically skipped towards the Ravenclaw table, where she was congratulated earnestly by her housemates. 'This should be great,' she thought to herself, 'a house where being good at school work is valued for a change. And, I won't have to put up with Ava. Brilliant.'

Back at the unsorted first years, Leala was growing increasingly nervous. What if she was in a house without any of her sisters? She had never been without them before, and already, Ellie and Ava were separated. Maia, on the other hand was grinning; she knew Ravenclaw was a perfect fit for her bookworm of a sister.

'Leala Fielder!' called Professor Longbottom. Leala squeaked a little, and her knees turned to jelly. 'It'll be fine,' whispered Maia, gently shoving her forward. Leala scurried shakily forward and fell onto the stool. Professor Longbottom offered her a comforting smile as the hat fell over her icy eyes.

'The third Fielder?' guessed the hat. 'Are you in my mind sir?' asked Leala politely, 'My sister Ellie mentioned that before. She's really clever.' 'Yes, so I saw. But what about you?' 'Oh, I'm not really that good at anything,' said Leala, 'My sisters are though. Ellie's so smart, and Maia's so kind and friendly, and Ava's really strong. Nothing upsets her, ever.' 'Hmm…' mused the hat, 'You care about your sisters, do you?' 'Yes. They're the best sisters I could have. I'd do anything for them.' 'Well now, that's very loyal of you,' the hat told her. 'Thank you sir,' Leala thought shyly, 'I honestly don't know what I'd do without them.' 'Indeed,' agreed the hat, 'But now back to you. You're a very hard worker I see. Honest too. This is the truest mind I've seen in quite a few years… yes I think I have you placed well now.' 'Do you think, if it's not too much to ask, could I maybe be with one of my sisters, please?' asked Leala. 'Hmm…' pondered the hat, 'Well they're in Slytherin and Ravenclaw, and I'm afraid I just can't see you in either of those. But never mind, perhaps your last sister will join you in…' 'HUFFLEPUFF!' roared the hat. Leala's heart sank slightly as she slipped the hat from her head and handed it back to Professor Longbottom, who gave her an encouraging smile. She caught Maia's eye as she made her way to the applauding Hufflepuffs. Maia gave her a comforting smile and she attempted to return it. 'Welcome to Hufflepuff!' greeted an older student warmly, shaking her hand as she sat down next to Maria Bones, Daisy Corner and Jasper Adams. They all smiled warmly at her and introduced themselves. 'Hmm…' thought Leala as she introduced herself to her three new housemates, 'Maybe it won't be so bad.'

'Maia Fielder!' called Professor Longbottom. Maia bit her lip. Roxanne smiled at her and Sage whispered good luck as she walked you to the platform and took her place on the stool. Professor Longbottom winked at her as the hat fell over her flaming curls.

'Ah, the final Fielder,' chuckled the hat. Maia squirmed. 'Ah. I see _you_ haven't been reading,' deduced the hat. 'No,' agreed Maia, 'that's Ellie's area.' 'Yes, indeed it is. Now, what about you? I'm seeing bravery and courage, plenty of it, oh yes. A good deal of talent too. A kind heart too, definitely not a Slytherin. Interesting.' 'Uh, I was wondering, do you think I could be in Hufflepuff with Leala? She hates being alone.' 'Hmm…' thought the hat, 'well that's definitely loyal of you, a trait that is in fact valued by Hufflepuffs.' 'Good. Everyone's happy,' said Maia. 'Alas, no, I'm afraid not,' apologized the hat, 'And my opinion's really the only one that matters.' 'That's not very loyal of you,' mumbled Maia. 'No,' agreed the hat, 'But I'm no Hufflepuff. And neither are you.' 'But you just said I was loyal!' argued Maia in frustration. 'Yes, but not as much as you are brave and courageous, traits that would go to waste in Hufflepuff. And besides, you don't really want to be in Hufflepuff do you? Secretly, you want to be your own person, don't you?' Maia felt taken aback, and a little annoyed at being psychoanalyzed by a hat. 'That's not fair! I love my sisters more than anything in the world!' 'I never said you didn't,' said the hat calmly, 'But you don't want to be in Hufflepuff do you?' Maia sighed internally. 'No, I supposed I don't,' she resigned, 'I just want to be where I belong.' 'Good,' said the hat, satisfied, 'Well then, I think you belong in…' 'GRYFFINDOR!'

The Gryffindor table burst into applause, and Maia couldn't keep the grin from her face as she handed the hat back to Professor Longbottom, whose grin stretched from ear to ear. She ran towards the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Violet, who grinned at her. 'Good to have you Maia,' called James Potter from a few seats down, and the boys she had met earlier, Lysander and Scorpius both grinned at her. Next to Scorpius was a boy that looked quite like James, but with bright emerald eyes, the girl that had been chasing James, Lucy, and girl with bushy red hair, that framed her freckle dusted face. 'Albus and Rose?' Maia wondered to herself, remembering what Ginny Potter had said in Diagon alley. She elbowed Violet. 'Is that Albus?' she asked, nodding slightly in his direction. Violet's gray-blue flickered over to where Maia was gesturing. 'Yeah, that's him,' she whispered, 'He's far less of an idiot than James. That's Rose beside him, I think. I've met her once or twice. She seems pretty cool.'

As the Gryffindors settled down, the sorting continued. 'Maria Finch-Fletchely!' 'HUFFLEPUFF!' 'Jamie Finnigan!' 'GRYFFINDOR!' 'Elliot Fletcher!' 'RAVENCLAW!' 'Belle Goldstein!' 'RAVENCLAW!' 'Vincent Goyle!' 'SLYTHERIN!' 'Max Hartford!' 'RAVENCLAW!' 'Oliver Johnson!' 'HUFFLEPUFF!' 'Sylvan Kingston!' 'RAVENCLAW!'

'Sage Longbottom!' Sage made a face, before hurrying up to the podium and sitting confidently on the rickety stool. Professor Longbottom dropped the hat over his eyes, looking more nervous than his son. The hat chuckled briefly before roaring 'GRYFFINDOR!' Sage grinned as he handed the hat back to his father, who slapped him on the back. Sage raced over to the Gryffindors, and sat down next to Maia and Violet. 'Hey,' he grinned. 'Hi,' said Maia grinning too, and Violet giggled.

Back on the podium, the sorting continued. 'Thea Love!' 'RAVENCLAW!' 'Emmett Macmillan!' 'HUFFLEPUFF!' 'Andrew McLaggen!' 'GRYFFINDOR!' 'Ben Milton!' 'HUFFLEPUFF!' 'Tobias Nott!' 'SLYTHERIN!' 'Beatrice Quentin!' 'SLYTHERIN!' 'Iris Raptsworth!' 'SLYTHERIN!' 'Russell Remington!' 'SLYTHERIN!' 'Olivia Richards!' 'GRYFFINDOR!' 'Gregory Silverstone!' 'RAVENCLAW!' 'Sam Stewart!' 'HUFFLEPUFF!' 'Charlotte Stilton!' 'RAVENCLAW!' 'Louisa Thomas!' 'HUFFLEPUFF!' 'Michael Thomas!' 'GRYFFINDOR!' 'Matthew Waverly!' 'RAVENCLAW!'

'Roxanne Weasley!' As Roxanne's name was called, a buzz of excited chatter rushed through the hall. Violet and Maia glanced at each other, and Violet shrugged. 'What's that about?' Maia asked Sage. 'Well, she is a Weasley after all,' Sage told them simply. Violet gave Maia a confused glance, and Maia shrugged. 'Go Roxy!' shouted a blonde haired Gryffindor boy, whose name Maia didn't know, and the whole table laughed. Roxanne grinned as she sat gracefully on the stool.

'Another Weasley?' asked the hat, aloud. 'Well, in that case, better be… GRYFFINDOR!' The entire hall burst into cheers and applause, and every single Gryffindor stood to applaud Roxanne as she ran to the Gryffindor table, a huge grin on her freckled face. 'Well done Roxy!' shouted several people, Fred thumped her on the back and James whistled loudly.

Finally, the Gryffindors calmed down, and Robert Wespurt was sorted into Gryffindor, and Raziel Zabini into Slytherin. At the professors' table at the top of the room, a witch in long, deep green robes rose from her seat. Her grey hair was pinned back in a tight bun and her face was creased with wrinkles. 'Welcome to another year at Hogwarts,' she said in a voice that was tarnished with age, 'Now, let the feast begin!'

Maia's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as the table filled itself with food. There were plates of crispy fried chicken, trays of roast beef, dishes of pasta, bowls of several different salads, baked potatoes, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes. They were carrots and tomatoes, peas and corn. There were baskets of soft, steaming bread rolls and curs of butter. There were jugs of what Maia thought was orange juice, and pitchers of water and lemonade.

Sage and Roxanne laughed at Maia and Violet, whose eyes were as wide as the huge gold plates in front of them. 'W-where did this all come from?' asked Maia, bewildered. 'House elves,' said Sage simply, buttering a roll. Maia and Violet stared at him. 'Of course it did,' said Violet in a bemused sort of voice. Sage grinned and passed them the bread basket.

Over at the Ravenclaw table, Ellie was sitting between Max Hartford and Gregory Silverstone. Max was of medium height, with sun touched brown skin that was dusted with freckles. His tussled hair was honey coloured and fell to the bottom of his ears. His deep brown eyes held an easy confidence, and they twinkled when he laughed.

Gregory on the other hand was slightly shorter, maybe an inch taller than Ellie. He was very pale and skinny, his face slightly pinched, with a gruesome scar running from the bottom of his ear lobe to his collar bone. His hair was light brown was shaggy and looked unbrushed. Instead of freckles, he was peppered with cuts and bruises. His blue-gray eyes were tinted with worry, and the heavy bag underneath them betrayed his exhaustion.

'So,' said Max slowly, his gaze flickering to Gregory nervously, 'you're a muggleborn Ellie? How'd your sister end up in Slytherin?' Ellie snorted. 'Ava's like that. Always has to do everything differently,' she rolled her eyes. Max laughed, 'Well that's about as different as you can get. And you're Gregory right?' he asked Gregory. 'What?' asked Gregory, startled, 'Oh, yeah, that's me.' Max grinned. 'Anyone call you Greg?' he asked with a smile. 'Um, no not really,' answered Gregory, smiling slightly too. 'Oh, well I'm going to call you Greg,' decided Max. Greg smiled slightly. 'Sure.' Ellie grinned. She loved Hogwarts already.

'So you're really a muggleborn?' asked Eugenia Bronte again. '_Yes,_' sighed Ava impatiently. 'But why are you in Slytherin then?' asked Tobias Nott. 'Hmm,' said Ava sarcastically, pretending to think it over, 'Maybe I'm really the daughter of a long line of Slytherins and I was adopted, and it's just a bizarre coincidence that I look exactly like my sisters. Hmm. I shall have to confront my father about this.' The Slytherins laughed. 'Well, she definitely has the attitude of a Slytherin,' mused Raziel Zabini, a tall, dark skinned boy, 'She's no pathetic Hufflepuff.' Ava's eyes narrowed dangerously. 'Watch it Zabini,' she growled, 'My sister's a Hufflepuff.' Raziel rolled his dark eyes. 'Chill Fielder. We take the mickey out of everyone, so get used to it,' he smirked infuriatingly.

Vincent Goyle, a dark haired boy with light brown eyes groaned. 'Put a sock in it Zabini, Hufflepuffs are people too.' Zabini grinned deviously. 'Debatable.' Ava slapped the back of his head sharply. 'Ow!' he complained and the Slytherins laughed again. 'Nice,' complimented Goyle, with a nod. Ava smirked. 'Why thank you,' she grinned. She smiled to herself as Zabini pointedly rubbed the back of his head. Muggleborn or not, she was fitting in just fine.

At the Hufflepuff table, Leala was settling in nicely too. The Hufflepuffs were amazingly nice and friendly. To her amazement, Leala found that she was able to talk easily to them, without help from her sisters. 'My brother's in Gryffindor,' said Louisa Thomas, a girl with a bob of black hair and warm brown skin, 'and my dad was too.' She looked a little upset. Emmett Macmillan laughed. 'Oh, are you Dean Thomas's daughter?' asked the golden haired boy, and Louisa nodded, 'Don't worry; we Hufflepuffs are just as good as Gryffindors. They just think they're Merlin's gift at everything,' he grinned. 'Hey!' said Leala, indignantly, 'My sister's a Gryffindor and she's the nicest person you'll ever meet! Don't judge a book by its cover!' Emmett blushed slightly. 'Sorry, I suppose you're right.'

The other first years were staring at Leala in awe. 'What?' she asked nervously. 'Oh, nothing,' assured Maria Finch-Fletchley, a girl with plaited dirty blonde hair and clear blue eyes, 'It just usually takes more than that to put him back in his box.' 'Hey!' exclaimed Emmett indignantly. 'Well, it's true!' argued Maria, the laughed as Emmett threw a bread roll at her.

Leala smiled. 'Do you all know each other already?' she asked. Maria shook her head. 'Not all of us. Emmett, Margo and I were thrown together a lot because our parents were all in Hufflepuff together,' she said, gesturing to Margo Bones, a girl with reddish brown hair and hazel eyes, 'Sage Longbottom was there to, his mother was a Hufflepuff. We were kind of hoping he'd be in Hufflepuff. The Longbottoms are a pretty cool family.'

Leala nodded. 'Yes, Professor Longbottom is very nice. He helped my sister's and I get our school things,' she told them. 'So what's it like being a muggleborn?' asked Jasper Adams, a dark haired boy, curiously. 'Yeah, what's the fellytone like?' asked Daisy Corner. Leala realized that every one of the first years was looking at her. But it didn't make her nervous; she liked the attention.

And for the first time Leala Fielder wasn't in the shadow of her sisters.

**AN: Sorry for the wait. Not that I have an excuse, I'm on holidays (insert guilty face here). Anyway, hope you liked it! Reviews always appreciated! **

**Love and sunshine, LilyRose xxx**


	5. Common Rooms

**Chapter 5- Common Rooms**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. _

After the feast, the prefects lead the first years to their common rooms. 'Gryffindors, this way!' called a girl bright red hair, sparkling, clear blue eyes and a pretty face with just the right amount of freckles.

Maia elbowed Roxanne as the tromped up the stone staircase. 'That isn't another cousin by any chance?' she asked her with a slight grin. Roxanne grinned. 'Yep. That would be Dominique. Did the hair tip you off?' she asked with a grin. Maia laughed. 'Yes, indeed it did.' Sage smirked. 'You know, with hair like that, anyone would think you're a Weasley Maia,' he said with a sort of deviously edge. Maia and Violet laughed, and Roxanne grinned. 'Right. Game. How many people can we convince that Maia is Uncle Charlie's daughter?' she proclaimed, a devious gleam in her gold eyes. 'Uncle Charlie doesn't have any kids,' Roxanne answered Maia's quizzical expression, 'So it'll be more convincing.'

Sage grinned. 'If Charlie did have kids,' he chuckled, 'they definitely wouldn't be called Maia. They'd be called Flame or Scales or something like that.' Roxanne exploded into a fit of giggles, while Maia and Violet exchanged a glance and shrugged. 'Uncle Charlie trains dragons,' Roxanne explained when she had calmed down, 'Everyone teases him that they're his children.

'Dragons?' choked Maia, 'They're _real_?' Roxanne giggled at her expression. 'Sorry,' she said apologetically, 'I keep forgetting you're a muggleborn.' Maia turned to Violet. 'Did you know there were dragons?' she demanded. Violet hesitated. 'Um, well I kind of worked it out from the fact that we had to buy dragon hide gloves,' she admitted with a slight smile. 'Oh,' said Maia sheepishly, 'Yeah, I forgot about that.' They all laughed.

'Ugh, you'd think if they were so damn magical, they could build an escalator,' moaned Violet, as the climbed the never ending stairs up to the seventh floor. 'Esca-what now?' queried Sage, eyebrows raised. 'Moving stairs,' Maia explained.

As though on cue, the stone staircase lurched sideways with a violent shudder and a deafening screech. Several people screamed, and all four of the friends lost their balance. Thankfully, no one fell over the edge. 'I didn't mean like that!' exclaimed Violet as she regained her balance.

Far below, the Slytherin looked up as they heard a scream as they marched deeper into the dungeons. 'What do you suppose that was?' asked Evelyn Braxton, a sandy blonde haired girl. 'Probably just some stupid muggleborn, who saw a ghost,' sneered Raziel. 'Oi!' exclaimed Ava. 'Oops,' smirked Zabini, feigning innocence, 'My bad Fielder.' Ava rolled her eyes. Prat.

Ava's gaze rested on Iris Raptsworth, a short girl with wavy, dirty blonde hair. She was the only one of the Slytherins who was yet to speak. The rest of them wouldn't shut up, thought Ava with a smirk. 'Oh well, not my problem,' Ava thought to herself, watching as the sullen girl trailed her feet.

They came to a stop in front of a cold stone wall. 'Parseltongue,' drawled the Slytherin prefect, and the walls parted with a groan of stone on stone.

'Whoa,' breathed Ava as they filed into the stony dungeon that was the Slytherin common room. A low set of cold stone stairs climbed down to low ceilinged, circular stone room, which was bathed in a greenish blue light that radiated from the end of the room. The walls were decorated with stone pillars and snaking designs. There were several low backed, black and dark green leather sofas and greenish chairs and lamps. A roaring fire burned in a huge, majestically carved mantel piece.

'Nice,' Ava murmured, as the prefect, Flint, directed them to the dormitories. 'Hell yeah,' agreed Goyle. Raziel rolled his eyes. 'You can close your mouth now Fielder.' Ava rolled her eyes. 'Can it Zabini,' she said dangerously. Goyle smirked and Beatrice Quentin, a dark brown, curly haired girl with dark eyes giggled. The others (except for Iris, who was yet to speak) either grinned or rolled their eyes. 'What?' demanded Ava at her friends' expressions. 'How long are you two going to pretend you hate each other?' asked Goyle, still smirking. 'I don't hate him, nor am I pretending to,' Ava informed them. 'I don't hate her,' said Zabini with a smirk, 'It's not her fault she's annoying.'

'Oi, first years! Shut up and get to bed,' shouted Flint as Ava slapped the back of Zabini's head.

Somewhere on the other side of the castle, the Hufflepuffs were winding their way through the basements, and came to a stop in front of a huge painting of a fruit bowl. 'Mandrake root,' said the blonde haired Hufflepuff prefect obediently. The portrait swung open with a creek, displaying a narrow tunnel, a yellow light looming at the end.

The Hufflepuffs shimmied through the narrow tunnel, and into a cozy, warm round room. Leala smiled as she stepped into it. It was just her kind of room; there were several plump arm chairs, and tables made from wooden barrels. The walls were draped with yellow and black hangings, and photographs of people laughing and smiling were clustered above the round fire place.

'Girls dormitories are through that door and down the hall,' said the prefect, gesturing to a circular wooden door on her right, 'boys, the same on that side. All your things will already have been brought up,' she smiled warmly at them, 'I'm Sally Harris, you can ask me about anything, anything at all. I'm afraid you all have to go to bed now, first night rules.' The first years thanked her. Leala and the other girls said goodnight to the boys, before heading to the door.

'Welcome to Hufflepuff!' said a warm voice. They jumped and turned to see who had spoken. A portrait of a young man, maybe eighteen or so, was smiling down at her from inside a gold frame. His had strong, chiseled features and dark hair.

'Did- did you just…?' Leala asked in surprise. The portrait laughed. 'Muggleborn eh? Not to worry, you'll pick it up quickly,' he promised with a smile. Leala nodded dumbly as Maria and Louisa pushed her through the door. 'What-who?' Leala still struggled for words. The other four girls looked a little sad. 'Cedric Diggory,' answered Margo, a frown masking her round face as they continued down the corridor. 'He was killed during his sixth year here,' Maria explained, 'I didn't know he had a portrait here though.'

Leala nodded feeling sad for the unfortunate boy. She decided not to ask how he had died as they reached a round door with a bronze plague that read 'First Year' in tarnished letters. Leala shoved the door open and the five girls tumbled inside.

The room was round, like the common room. The walls held a brownish yellow wall paper and there were no windows as they were in the basement. A single yellowish gas lamp hung on a chain from the middle of the ceiling. Five four-poster beds were arranged in a circle around the room, with thick yellow and black hangings, and yellow bed covers with thin black stripes. A round table made to look like a barrel stood next to each bed, a dim lantern placed on top of each. At the end of each bed sat the owner's trunk, along with a simple wooden chair.

Over each chair was draped the girls' new uniforms. Leala wandered over to the bed with her trunk at the end of it, and dropped her brown satchel on the bed. She looked at the uniform on the chair. It was in the house colours, as Roxanne had said it would be.

There were two new jumpers; grey and V-necked, with a band of yellow and black at the cuffs, neck and end. As well as the jumpers there were three new ties; yellow with thin black stripes and a new robe; black with yellow lining and the Hufflepuff emblem, a yellow and black crest with a badger, embroidered on the left chest.

Leala fingered the silky material of the tie, excitement bubbling inside her as she thought about what she was going to experience over the next few days. The friends, the classes, learning to manage without her sisters…

Her train of thought was interrupted as she was hit in the back of the head with a pillow. She grinned and turned around to see Daisy giggling, and Maria, Louisa and Margo all clutching pillows, poised to attack. Leala grinned and grabbed her pillow.

The Ravenclaw students were dragging their tired feet up a winding staircase on the west side of the fifth floor. 'Our common room's a tower?' Ellie asked the dark hair prefect. The prefect nodded as the came to a stop outside a door with a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.

'Erm, is it just me, or is there no door handle?' Max asked Ellie in a mock whisper. The prefect rolled his eyes and smiled. 'You have to answer a question before you can get in.' Greg glanced nervously at the knocker. 'What if you get the answer wrong?' he asked worriedly. 'You have to wait for someone else to come and open it. But don't worry, they're not that hard,' he assured Greg, 'Now, may we have our question?' he asked the eagle. The eagle stirred into life with a metallic rustle.

'Certainly. Which came first; the phoenix or the flame?' The prefect turned to the first years. 'Any guesses?' Ellie, who had been staring in amazement at the eagle, shook herself back into focus.

'Hmm. Well, I'm going to take a wild bet that it's the same question as the chicken and the egg, right?' The prefect grinned at her and nodded. 'Well, in that case, it's a circle,' pondered Ellie logically, 'but a circle has no beginning does it?'

The prefect turned expectantly to the eagle. 'Right you are my dear!' exclaimed the eagle, 'You may enter. 'Nice,' Max congratulated her as the door swung open and they filed into the common room. Max let out a low whistle as they looked around the common room.

The room was wide and circular, and the surrounding mountains could be seen from the arched windows. The carpet was a midnight blue and soft blue silks hung lazily from the windows, rippling in the pleasant breeze. The ceiling was domed, and decorated with delicate painted stars.

'This is pretty cool,' murmured Ellie, admiring the star speckled ceiling. 'It's awesome,' agreed Max with a grin. 'Yes, it is rather nice isn't it? Nice and calm,' sighed Greg, seemingly relieved. Ellie and Max jumped a little at hearing his voice. 'Hey mate, forgot you could talk,' laughed Max, giving Greg a playful punch on the shoulder.

Ellie looked thoughtfully at Greg. He was only eleven, but his eyes seemed to be a thousand years old, and his voice sounded withered and broken. Part of her was nagging her to ask what was wrong, and yet she had a sinking suspicion that he wouldn't tell her if she asked. He probably didn't want to talk about it, whatever it was.

'Hello, earth to Ells!' Max was waving his hand in front of her face, snapping her out of her day dream. She blinked. 'Ells?' she asked him, eyebrows raised skeptically. Max grinned. 'My mates, Greg 'n' Ells,' he mused, 'I like that.' Ellie and Greg laughed. 'Has anyone ever told you you're just a _little _bit crazy?' Ellie asked him with a smile. 'It's been mentioned,' he admitted, kneeling down and tying an unsuspecting Belle Goldstein's shoe laces together. The black haired girl noticed nothing as Max pointed his wand at her laces and stood back up, his knees clicking as he did.

'What did that do?' Ellie asked, indicating Max's wand. Max grinned deviously. 'Untieable spell.' Ellie grinned. It was going to be an interesting year.

'Hippogriff,' said Dominique. 'Very good, very good, on you go dears,' drawled the portly woman in the portrait. 'Did that portrait just-just,' Violet stammered as Sage and Roxy shoved her and an equally stunned Maia through the portrait hole. 'Yeah, they'll do that,' assured Sage briskly as the tumbled into the common room. 'But they're- whoa,' Maia interrupted her own thought.

The common room was round with a high ceiling and two wooden doors, one on either side with a gold handle. The walls were covered with faded red wallpaper and carpets were a beautiful, deep, ruby red. There were several luxurious armchairs and sofas, also red, and Gryffindor flags and banners, along with moving photographs and paintings were plastered to the walls. Aged wooden beams ran part way across the ceiling and a chandelier made of twirled, gold plated metal and flickering candles. Best of all, a bright fire of ruby reds, sunset oranges and glistening gold's burned majestically in an old fire place.

'I think I like Gryffindor,' said Maia with a smile. 'Agreed,' mumbled Violet as she glanced around the common room in awe. 'I still can't believe that portrait was talking,' said Maia, shaking her head in amazement. Sage grinned. 'You said that about the ghosts too. Just watch out for the zombies,' he said, his face sincere. 'Zombies?' exclaimed Maia and Violet in alarm. '_No_,' assured Roxanne, whacking Sage's arm.

Sage grinned. 'Muggleborns are fun.'

**AN: Okay, that chapter isn't as long as some of the others, but I wanted to show the sisters getting settled without each other. Hopefully the next chapter will be more interesting. I've got to admit, I love Max. Who is your favourite character? Too early to say? Click that magic button and let me know!**

**Love and sunshine,**

**LilyRose xxx**


	6. A Hectic First Morning

**Chapter 6- A Hectic First Morning**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

Maia awoke the next morning to bright sunlight streaming directly into her eyes through the dirty windows. She opened her eyes sleepily, and smiled softly when she remembered where she was. She rolled over lazily and glanced at her alarm clock that stood on her bedside table. 'Seven o'clock!' she exclaimed as she threw back her covers and leapt from her bed. Their other dorm mates, Myriah Creevey and Olivia Richards, were gone from their beds, leaving Maia, Roxanne and Violet alone in the dormitory.

Roxanne stirred in the next bed. She rolled over and rubbed her gold eyes sleepily. 'Morning,' she mumbled sleepily. Maia grinned, 'Morning. It's seven, let's go!' Roxanne groaned before pulling herself from her bed. Violet, on the other hand, was still fast asleep in her bed.

'Violet,' called Roxy as she grabbed her new uniform from her chair, 'time to get up.' There was no reply. Maia and Roxanne glanced at each other, grinned and grabbed their pillows.

'Hey!' exclaimed Violet as she was hit in the head with two fluffy pillows. Maia and Roxanne laughed, and each grabbed one of Violet's arms and hauled her from her bed.

Fifteen minutes later, Maia, Roxanne and Violet were walking into the great hall, decked out in their Gryffindor uniforms. Maia waved to Ellie as they walked past the Ravenclaw table, but Ellie didn't see her, she was deep in conversation with a pair of boys, whose names Maia didn't know.

'Okay then,' thought Maia, as she, Roxanne and Violet sat down next to Sage. Myriah Creevey, a small, dirty blonde haired girl and Olivia Richards, a dark brown haired girl smiled at them from a few seats down.

'Morning,' Sage greeted them with a smile. 'Zombies?' Violet asked him bitterly, still not having forgiven him for last night. Sage grinned. 'I'm sorry. Friends?' Violet rolled her eyes and pretended to think about it. 'Fine,' she agreed with a grin. Roxanne and Maia laughed.

'Morning you lot,' came a voice from behind them. 'Morning Professor Longbottom,' chorused Maia, Violet and Roxanne. 'Morning Dad- I mean Professor,' Sage corrected himself with a frown. Professor Longbottom laughed. 'That's alright,' he paused and grinned, 'Mr. Longbottom.' Sage made a face and the girls laughed.

'Anyway, I have your timetables,' Professor Longbottom informed them, handing them each a rolled up piece of parchment. 'Thank you,' they chorused. 'You're welcome. I'll see you later,' he told them. 'Ah, Miss Creevey, Miss Richards,' he said, moving down the row of first years.

Maia unrolled her timetable. 'What do we have first?' Sage asked, not looking up from his bowl of porridge. 'Herbology with the Hufflepuffs,' answered Maia, scanning the timetable. Sage grinned. 'I suppose you'll be brilliant at it, seeing as your dad is,' Roxy said with a smile. Sage grinned again, 'Maybe,' he said going back to his porridge.

'I think I'm in love with this bacon,' said Ava happily, taking a bite of the sizzling bacon. Goyle laughed. 'It's damn good bacon,' he agreed, piling more onto his plate. 'Ah, my first years!' came a loud voice from behind the Slytherins. A large man with a thick moustache and a round stomach waddled up behind them. 'I'm Professor Slughorn, head of Slytherin house. I have your timetables,' he told them, thrusting rolls of parchment at them. 'Have a good first day!' he told them, before bustling off down the rows of tables.

The Slytherins let out a collective groan as they unrolled their timetables. 'History of Magic with the Ravenclaws, first thing,' groaned Eugenia, 'What did we do to deserve that?' Ava frowned. 'We hate the Ravenclaws too?' she asked. Zabini snorted. 'Of course we do.' Ava rubbed the sides of her head tiredly. 'Why, may I ask?' 'Cos,' shrugged Zabini, 'they're not Slytherins.' Ava frowned again. 'I'm all for hating people, but usually I like to have a reason,' she said. Zabini grinned. 'Reasons are over rated.'

Goyle rolled his eyes as Ava frowned. 'Zabini, you are so like your father,' said Goyle tiredly. Zabini grinned, 'Thank you,' he said with a smirk. 'It wasn't a compliment,' muttered Goyle. Zabini glared at him. 'At least I'm not named after someone who was killed by their own spell,' he retorted harshly. Goyle scowled. 'If you think I'm happy about being named after an incompetent Death Eater, 'he snapped angrily, 'you have another think coming.' Zabini smirked, yet again. 'Touchy.'

'Being obnoxious, are we dear cousin?' came a voice from behind them. The Slytherins whipped around to see Scorpius Malfoy standing behind them, a smug look on his face. Zabini groaned. 'What do you want Scorpius?' he demanded impatiently. Scorpius grinned. 'My dearest mother told me to keep an eye on you, make sure you were settling in okay.' Ava snorted into her glass of water. Scorpius cast her a glance and smiled. Zabini scowled. 'Aunt Astoria worries too much. Besides, I don't need to be checked on by a Gryffindor,' he spat. Scorpius smirked again. 'Whatever you say little cuz,' he said, ruffling the little hair Zabini had, 'Just try to be tolerable. Or someday one of these lovely people is going to hex you,' he said, gesturing to the others, 'And I won't do a thing to stop them.' Scorpius strode away back to the Gryffindor table, whistling as he went.

'He told you,' Ava said in a grim voice. Goyle snorted. 'Can it Fielder,' snapped Zabini as he stabbed a piece of bacon.

'Pumpkin juice?' asked Ellie skeptically. 'Yup,' answered Max. 'And I'm supposed to drink it?' she asked, still unconvinced. 'No, you're supposed to bathe in it,' said Max rolling his eyes. 'It's actually quite nice,' said Greg reassuringly.

Ellie frowned at the goblet of juice in front of her. 'Fine,' she sighed and took a gulp. 'Well?' asked Max eagerly as Ellie set the goblet down. 'It's- it's actually nice,' she admitted reluctantly. Max grinned triumphantly. 'Told you,' he bragged.

'First years!' called a squeaky voice from behind them. 'Morning Professor Flitwick,' they greeted the little man. 'I have your timetables- oh darn it!' he exclaimed as he dropped the scrolls of parchment. Greg and Ellie immediately bent over to help him gather the timetables from the floor. 'Thank you, thank you,' said Professor Flitwick as they handed him the timetables, 'Now first years, first years… Ah! Here we are!' he exclaimed, handing them each a roll of parchment, 'Have a good first day!' he babbled, before rushing off.

'Funny little man,' mused Max with a smile, 'What do we have first?' Ellie consulted her timetable. 'History of Magic,' she answered, 'with the Slytherins,' she added with a grimace. 'I'm sure the Slytherins aren't that bad,' said Greg softly. Ellie smiled at him. 'I know,' she said with a chuckle, 'I'm just so used to insulting Ava and I forgot she's not here to be offended.' Greg smiled and Max laughed as they stood up from the table and strolled out of the Great Hall.

'And they said you were boring,' grinned Max, pretending to ruffle her hair. 'Who said I was boring?' demanded Ellie. Max grinned. 'No one. Kidding.'

'Well no one might have said it,' came a snide voice from behind them, 'but we were all thinking it.' Ellie, Max and Greg whirled around to see Zabini strutting up to them, Ava and the other Slytherins trailing behind them, either looking smug, as most of them were, or uncomfortable as Ava and a boy with dark hair were. A girl with dirty blonde hair was staring blankly at the floor.

Max scowled. 'Get lost snake,' he said coolly. 'Oh ho, not very friendly today, are we Hartford? Uncle get fired again? Or is it just the fact that your only friends are a mudblood and something the cat dragged in?' sneered Zabini, glancing in disgust at Ellie and Greg. Max reddened. 'Get lost Zabini, or I'll hex you into next week,' growled Max. 'What, with your Dad's wand? Granted he's not using it anymore, but still can't be much good, as cheap as it is.'

The colour rushed from Max face. 'How about we all just calm down?' suggested Greg quietly, stepping in between Max and Zabini. Zabini scanned him critically. 'Shut up, twig,' he sneered, shoving Greg out of his way. Greg lost his balance and toppled backwards. Ellie rushed to help him as Zabini and Max continued to glare at each other.

'Raziel, back off mate,' said Goyle quietly, using Zabini's first name. 'Yeah Zabini. Go crawl back into your hole,' smirked Max. 'And you crawl back to your filthy blood traitor father. Oh wait. You can't.'

Zabini didn't get to finish what he was saying because Max leapt at him and tackled him to the stone ground with a crash. 'Stop it!' shouted Greg, looking desperate.

Ellie wracked her brain for a spell she had read as some of the Slytherins started to cheer. Greg and Goyle tried in vain to pull Max and Zabini from each other. The other Ravenclaws were beginning to gather behind them, as the spell Ellie was looking for slipped from her tongue.

'Locomotor Mortis!' shouted Ellie, aiming her wand at Zabini. Zabini let out a yelp of complaint as his legs locked together and he tumbled to the floor. At the same time Greg managed to pull Max from Zabini, cold sweat pouring down his flaming cheeks. Goyle pulled Zabini from the floor, his legs still locked tightly together.

Ava glanced at Ellie. 'What's the reversal?' she asked Ellie. Ellie narrowed her eyes. 'Work it out,' she snapped. 'Why are you mad at me, I didn't do anything!' exclaimed Ava in frustration. 'Exactly,' snapped Ellie, before marching over to Greg and Max, turning her back on Ava. 'You okay?' she asked Max, handing him a tissue for his bleeding nose. He attempted to grin. 'Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go.'

Ava watched the Ravenclaws walked away, before turning back to the Slytherins. Eugenia was leafing through a charms book, trying to find a counter curse as Zabini struggled to keep his balance. Ava glared at him.

'Thank you _so _much,' she spat sarcastically, 'Now my sister hates me.' Zabini snorted. 'All I did to your sister was call her a mudblood. It's not my fault Hartford's overly sensitive.' Ava's eyes narrowed. 'Being a _mudblood_ myself, I'm not sure, but I'm assuming it's an insult. And it's clearly escaped your brilliant mind that calling my sister a _mudblood _you are also calling me a _mudblood. _So I think I am quite justified in saying that you, Raziel Zabini, are a complete and utter prat.'

With that, Ava twirled on her heel and stormed off, leaving the Slytherins gaping after her. 'Justified,' mused Beatrice a moment later, 'That's a big word Zabini. Need me to explain it?' Zabini scowled. 'Why don't you just go with her then Quentin?' Beatrice pretended to think it over. 'You know what? I think I will,' she said with a smile, before striding off after Ava, dark brown curls bouncing as she went.

'Well, hate to break it to you mate,' said Goyle, clapping Zabini on the back, 'but you're an idiot,' he declared, walking away after Ava and Beatrice. Iris shifted from foot to foot, before following, still not saying anything.

The remaining Slytherins stood in uncomfortable silence. 'Well that was awkward,' said Evelyn with a forced laugh. 'Let's just get to class,' muttered Zabini, and so the remains of the Slytherins trailed after their classmates.

Across the grounds, things were going far smoother for the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs in greenhouse one. The sun was warm through the dirty glass roof, and the air was thick with a moist, earthen aroma.

'Welcome to greenhouse one first years!' beamed Professor Longbottom, 'Now, are you all wearing your gloves? Good, then let's get going. Today's lesson is on devil snare. You'll be clipping them while I talk. Split into pairs please.'

'Right, how shall we do this?' asked Sage turning to the girls. 'Actually,' said Maia, slightly reluctantly, 'I think I'll go with Leala. If you guys don't mind.' Roxanne smiled understandingly. 'Of course. She's your sister.' Maia smiled appreciatively before sliding over to the other side of the table.

Leala was standing with the other Hufflepuff girls, looking surprisingly relaxed and happy. 'Hey,' Maia said when Leala saw her. Leala smiled. 'Hey Maia!' she said happily, giving her a hug. Maia grinned. 'So how are you finding it so far?' she asked Leala. Leala beamed. 'It's brilliant. Don't you think? Everyone's so nice!'

Maia stared at her, slightly taken aback. It was unlike Leala to be this confident in a new situation, and her eagerness was unnerving Maia a little. 'Um, yeah, they are,' agreed Maia, trying to focus, 'So, anyway, be my partner?' she asked.

A half guilty, half embarrassed look drifted onto Leala's face. 'Um, well actually,' she stuttered, sounding more like herself, 'I'm partners with Daisy,' she explained, gesturing to a short blonde haired girl, who smiled shyly, 'Sorry Maia,' she said, looking quite upset. 'It's okay Leala, you can go with your sister, I don't mind,' offered Daisy kindly. 'No, it's fine,' said Maia quickly, although she did feel a little hurt. She smiled briefly before hurrying back over to the Gryffindors.

'Hey, what's wrong?' queried Roxanne, seeing the look on Maia's face. 'What?' asked Maia distractedly, 'Oh, nothing, Leala already has a partner.' Roxanne surveyed her carefully. 'Well, it's good that she's making her own friends, isn't it?' she asked carefully. Maia tried to smile. 'Yeah, it is, it's really good. It's just…' she found she couldn't finish her sentence.

'I know what you're trying to say,' said Roxanne softly. 'Well, you can go with me if you want. Sage and Violet are going together,' she said, seeing that Maia needed a change of subject. Maia smiled, feeling better. 'Brilliant.'

The herbology lesson was really a lot of fun. The devil snare was quite vicious, and several people, Maia included, managed to get tangled in it. The four friends laughed until their sides hurt as Sage unraveled her from the vine's iron grip. Sage was, predictably, amazing at the subject. Leala seemed to have an aptitude for the subject too, thought Maia, as Professor Longbottom awarded Hufflepuff ten points as Leala expertly unwound the lethal vines from Emmett Macmillan's wrists, by sending a burst of light from her wand.

'You'll have to remember that,' Sage told Maia as they left the greenhouse, 'Should the evil devil snare have you in its clutches, and I'm not around to save you, simply do what Leala did.' Maia rolled her eyes as Sage's devious grin. 'Thanks Sage, what would I do without you?' Sage grinned. 'Not much.'

History of Magic was a far duller affair, as the Ravenclaws and Slytherins were discovering while the Gryffindors were attacked by plants. The most interesting point to the class was that it was taught by a ghost, something Ava was having trouble comprehending.

'It's not that complicated Ava,' explained Goyle patiently, for the eighteen time. 'But then why doesn't everyone just become a ghost?' she asked, still confused. Goyle and Beatrice groaned in unison. Iris sat in silence beside them. 'Because only people who were afraid of death can become ghosts,' explained Beatrice. Ava thought it over. 'That's stupid,' she declared. 'No arguments,' mumbled Goyle, glad the discussion had come to an end.

'So how long do you think it'll take before we all stop hating each other?' asked Goyle quietly, nodding to the other side of the room, where Zabini and the other Slytherins were huddled. Beatrice glanced at Ava, and she shrugged. 'I don't know. I know my sisters can be annoying, but I'm not going to let Zabini insult them like that. He doesn't even know them. Why would he be like that to Ellie, she hadn't even done anything?'

Goyle and Beatrice shrugged, looking uncomfortable. 'What?' Ava demanded. Beatrice and Goyle glanced at each other. 'Well, it's just…' started Goyle, fidgeting with his hands, 'It's just, Zabini's a pureblood. And some purebloods think they're better than everyone else. He'll insult anyone if they're not a pureblood like him. It's dumb, it's stupid, it's.' 'A death eater attitude?' Beatrice cut him off sourly. Goyle fidgeted again. 'Well, yeah.'

Ava frowned. 'A what eater?' she asked. But Beatrice and Goyle just shook their heads. Ava scowled. 'Well you two are helpful,' she sulked. That earned her a small smile from both of them. Her icy eyes flickered to Zabini. She caught his eyes, and he looked away quickly. Ava sighed. 'I'll talk to him after class,' she decided reluctantly, 'His tiny brain probably just can't retain the knowledge that I'm a muggleborn, and Ellie's my sister. That's not his fault I suppose.' Goyle and Beatrice laughed loudly, earning them a dirty look from a disgruntled ghost-professor.

At the front of the room, the Ravenclaws were frantically scribbling notes into they're notebooks. 'I like quills,' remarked Ellie, twirling the feather fondly in her hand. She was sitting in between Max and Greg. While Greg was scribbling away in surprisingly neat hand writing, Max was staring into space distractedly.

Ellie and Greg glanced at each other and shrugged. Ellie couldn't help but notice the long scars on Greg's face and neck as he did so. Though she'd never ask, she wondered what the story behind them could be. Greg seemed so gentle.

She tried not to worry about it, instead turning her attention back to Max, Even Ellie had to admit that History of Magic was not the most exciting of classes. As she looked at her friend now, worried began to bubble in her stomach. The confidence in his eyes was now hidden by sadness as he gazed into space. His mouth was settled in a small frown, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Ellie was good at reading people, though not as good as Maia at making them feel better. But she had only known Max a day, and she could already read him like a book; and something was definitely bothering him.

She elbowed him softly. 'Mm?' he asked, not moving his eyes. 'Umm, are you okay?' asked Ellie cautiously. Max turned properly to her and smiled. 'Yeah I'm fine. Just bored stiff,' he laughed unconvincingly as a shrill bell rang, signaling the end of class.

The three friends gathered their books and filed out of the room together, Ellie taking care not to catch Ava's gaze. 'I have to go and, um, get something from the common room,' fabricated Max as they made their way down the corridor. 'Want us to come?' asked Ellie carefully. Max shook his head, his tussled hair bouncing slightly. 'No it's fine. I'll meet you in the great hall, okay?' 'Okay,' Ellie and Greg agreed. Max grinned and sped off in the other direction, looking more like himself again.

'He is alright, isn't he?' Ellie asked Greg with a frown. 'I think so,' puzzled Greg, as they continued down to the great hall. As they climbed down the steep staircase, Ellie noticed something; Greg was limping. She frowned, wondering why she hadn't noticed this earlier.

'Are you okay?' she asked him worriedly. Greg looked surprised. 'Me? Yeah I'm fine,' he assured her. Ellie frowned. 'You're limping,' she informed him. 'Am I?' he asked. The look of surprise on his thin face couldn't have been more unbelievable.

'Oh dear,' Ellie thought worriedly to herself. What exactly was going on with her new friends? This could get interesting.

**AN: Ahhh please don't hate me for not updating for so long! I'm sorry! Back to school and homework and all that stuff. But I'm really sorry, and definitely still going with this story so please don't abandon me! I wasn't sure about the ending, but I couldn't think of a better way to wrap it up. And, incase you're wondering, there will be a different plot for each of the sisters, but I only have Ellie's completely worked out, so bare with me! Oh, and in my mind, Daphne Greengrass married Blaise Zabini, which would make Raziel and Scorpius cousins. **

**If you've forgiven me for not updating for so long, reviews would be awesome! Oh, and if you're reading my other story, I will try to update that tomorrow! So, if you're feeling forgiving, hit that magic button! **

**Love and sunshine,**

**LilyRose xxx**


	7. New Decisions and Qudditch Positions

**Chapter 7- New Decisions and Quidditch Positions **

**_AN:Erm.. Better late than never? I'm sorry, really and truly, please forgive me :'(... Anyway here's the next chapter, enjoy!_**

_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I do not own Harry Potter and I am not availible for birthday parties._

'Flying?' asked Violet nervously, surveying her timetable. 'Don't worry, it's simple,' assured Roxanne. 'Easy for you to say Weasley,' said Sage through a mouthful of brown bread. Roxanne laughed as she plucked a green apple from the golden dish in the center of the long table.

It was lunch time, and the four friends were digging into a delicious meal, lovingly prepared by the Hogwarts house elves. 'So, what keeps the broom, you know, _in _the air?' asked Violet anxiously. 'Pixie dust,' answered Sage straight faced. Roxanne and Maia rolled their eyes. Violet hit him across the back of the head.

'But seriously,' repeated Violet, 'How do they stay up?' Roxanne smiled. 'Well, magic ,' she laughed. Violet made a face. 'It's okay Vi,' said Maia with a smile, 'We don't know what keeps airplanes in the air.' Sage and Roxanne exchanged a glance and shrugged. Violet laughed. 'True,' she said, taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

At the Ravenclaw table, Ellie, Max and Greg were clustered together, pouring over their timetable for the afternoon. 'Flying, potions and herbology,' grinned Max, rubbing his hands together, 'Sweet.' Ellie frowned. 'Is flying hard? Because, well, muggles only use brooms for sweeping.'

Max laughed and Ellie noticed the confidence had found its way back to his deep brown eyes. Greg smiled too. 'It's a little tricky at first,' he told Ellie, 'but you'll get the hang of it.' Ellie nodded, unconvinced as a shrill bell echoed through the Great Hall. Max grinned. 'Let's go!'

Five minutes later, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors were gathered on the windy grounds, cloaks buttoned tightly around their necks. Maia pulled back her flaming curls and tied them tightly with a hair tie. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ellie doing the exact same with her blonde ringlets.

She smiled to herself. 'Hey, I'm going to go say hi to Ellie,' said Maia, turning to her friends. But only Roxanne was listening; Sage had managed to trip over his shoelaces and was lying flat on his back on the grass and Violet was trying unsuccessfully not to laugh as she helped him to his feet.

Roxanne smiled. 'Sure. We'll be here,' she laughed, glancing at Sage and Violet. Maia laughed before skipping over to Ellie.

Ellie was standing with the two boys from that morning, whose names Maia was yet to discover. 'Hey,' she said, coming up behind the three friends. Ellie whirled around and grinned. 'Hey Maia!' The two boys behind Ellie smiled. 'Oh, right!' exclaimed Ellie, slightly frazzled, 'Maia, this is Max and Greg,' she told Maia, beckoning to a honey haired boy with tanned skin, and a thin, mousy haired pale boy in turn. As she looked at the second boy, Maia found herself with an urge to put a blanket around him and give him a big mug of cocoa.

'Guys, this is Maia,' Ellie continued, 'My Gryffindor sister.' Maia, Greg and Max all laughed and said hello. Greg suddenly became very interested in something Maia couldn't see. 'Hey, what's that?' he asked, pointing to the invisible object ahead of him. 'What's what?' asked Max, frowning. '_That,_' answered Greg, still pointing, 'Come inspect it with me Max,' he said pointedly, 'It was nice to meet you Maia,' he added before dragging away a confused Max.

Maia raised her eyebrows. 'That was nice of him,' she said and Ellie nodded. 'That's maybe the most I've heard him talk at once,' she said with a laugh. Then she spun around and threw her arms around Maia, hugging her tightly. Maia laughed and hugged her back. 'Best greeting I've gotten all day,' she grinned.

Ellie frowned. 'Didn't you have herbology with Leala this morning? She must have been glad to see you.' Maia shrugged. 'I don't know… She seemed more interested in her new friends,' she explained, working to keep the resentment from her voice.

Ellie almost choked. 'Leala? Friends? _New?_' she spluttered in shock. Maia laughed. 'I was just as surprised.' Ellie frowned again. 'Well, that's good isn't it?' Maia hesitated, before nodding. 'Yeah, it is. It's just…' she trailed off. But Ellie nodded; she knew how Maia's thought finished. Things were changing, fast, and Maia was feeling a little lost. Ellie understood all too well.

'So how was your morning?' asked Maia, desperate for a change of subject. Ellie grimaced. 'Do you have any particular attachment to our other sister?' she asked, 'Because it is highly probable I'll have murdered her before the end of the week.'

'Ava?' asked Maia, and Ellie nodded, 'Uh oh, what did she do?' Ellie sighed and began to recount the morning's events to Maia, who listened without interrupting. 'And then I asked him why he was limping, and he pretended not to have noticed,' she finished exhaustedly.

Maia scowled. 'So Ava didn't do anything? At all?' Ellie shook her head. 'Well, except ask me how to undo the jinx.' Maia scowled again. 'Would you like some help killing her?' Ellie laughed. 'I'm sure I'll manage.'

A shrill whistle pierced through the film of the sisters' conversation. 'Right everyone, let's get going!' shouted Madam Hooch, the grey haired flying instructor. 'We'll talk later,' promised Maia. Ellie nodded quickly and the sisters separated, racing back to their respective friends.

An hour later, the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws trudged back to the castle, sweating and out of breath. 'Flying. Hurt. Ow,' groaned Violet. Roxanne and Sage laughed. Maia struggled to regain her breath.

'How in the world are you so unbelievably good at this?' panted Maia, turning to Roxanne. Roxanne smiled shyly, blushing slightly. 'I've had a lot of practice,' she said. Sage snorted. 'Give it up Roxy, you're a Weasley. You're just talented.'

Maia and Violet glanced at each other; they were yet to ask or discover exactly what the significance of 'being a Weasley' was. Sage turned to them. 'Weasleys are natural quidditch players,' he explained, 'they fly before they can walk.'

Maia's eyes widened as Violet asked, 'Quidditch?' Roxanne and Sage laughed, before diving into a detailed account of exactly what quidditch was, and why it was the best thing on the face of the earth.

Roxanne was midway through explaining the role of the seeker as the Gryffindors passed the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins on their way to their flying lesson.

Leala spotted the flaming locks of her sister, laughing loudly with Roxanne, Violet and Sage. Leala waved, but Maia didn't seem to notice. Either that, or she was ignoring her.

Leala's heart sank a little. 'No,' she told herself firmly, 'Maia isn't ignoring you. She's not like that, you're being ridiculous.' She nodded confidently to herself. Beside her, Louisa Thomas raised a dark eyebrow.

'You okay Leala?' she asked. Leala smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine,' she assured her friend. Leala liked Louisa a lot. She was quiet and gentle, but kind and friendly. Her skin was a warm, soft shade of brown and her heart shaped face was framed with a bob of shiny black hair. Her big, eyes were dark, deep brown, tinged with flecks of bright gold and swam with an unconditional warmth.

The Hufflepuffs, who had taken to going everywhere in one big cluster, came to a stop in the breezy court yard, scarfs whipping around their necks.

'It would be a great day for quidditch,' sighed Emmett wistfully.

'Quidditch?' repeated Leala in confusion.

Emmett waved a hand dismissively. 'It's the most popular wizarding sport,' he said, 'I'll explain properly later.' Leala nodded, secretly praying he'd forget; Emmett had a tendency to ramble, and she wasn't an avid sports person at the best of times.

Back up the hill, the Slytherins were dawdling, clustered together, Ava and Zabini leading them, immersed in a grim conversation.

'So…truce?' offered Zabini, a glimmer of hope in his dark eyes as he extended a slender hand. Ava hesitated, regarding the dark claw warily. Finally, she seized dark hand in pale and shook determinedly. 'Truce.'

The remaining Slytherins let out a collective sigh of relief as the two exchanged a small smile.

Ava felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she strode triumphantly back to Goyle and Beatrice, Iris still trailing behind them. Zabini seemed like someone worthwhile to have in her arsenal. Besides; it was time her sisters started standing on their own two feet; they needed to fight their own battles.

She nodded decidedly to herself as the Slytherins joined the Hufflepuffs in the windy yard. She pretended not to notice Leala's wave from within her gaggle of Hufflepuffs.

But Leala didn't have time to feel hurt; the bright eyed, grey haired Madam Hooch stepped into the void between the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins and blew her shrill whistle with piercing force. 'Right first years, find a broom,' she instructed briskly.

The first years obediently stepped up to the two lines of broomsticks, Slytherins facing Hufflepuffs. Ava purposefully stood at the end of the line of Slytherins, as far away from Leala as possible.

'Right,' instructed Madam Hooch, 'I want you all to step up to your broomsticks, hold out your right hand and say 'Up'.'

Deciding she was probably imagining her sister's strange behavior, Leala did as she was told and held her right hand over the battered broomstick.

'Up,' she said to it, sounding more like she was making a suggestion than giving a command.

Suddenly, the broom leapt obediently from the grass into Leala's grasp. Leala was surprised but pleased as she marveled how smooth, comfortable and natural the broom felt in her hand.

She looked up to see astonishment etched on the faces of every one of her class mates, Slytherins and Hufflepuffs alike. She momentarily caught her sister's cool eyes, before Ava looked away hurriedly. It was Leala's turn to be astonished when she realized not a single other broom had moved from their spots on the earthen floor.

She turned to see Louisa and Maria giving her encouraging smiles and Emmett gazing at her in awe. She smiled slightly; she couldn't help but feel pleased.

Five minutes later the first years each had a broomstick firmly in their grasp.

'Okay,' began Madam Hooch, 'I want you all to mount your brooms. When I blow my whistle, you are to lean forward, hover for a few seconds, then touch back down. Clear?'

The first years nodded as they mounted their brooms. 'Very good,' nodded Madam Hooch approvingly, 'Right, on my whistle. Three, two, one.' She put her shriveled lips to the shrill whistle and blew it piercingly loud.

Leala made to lean forward, excitement and terror fighting for control of her, but before she had the chance to take her feet from the ground, a panicked cry from down the line filled her ears.

Leala, along with the rest of the first years, whipped around to see a petrified Daisy Corner beginning carried higher and higher by her broom as she clung on for dear life.

'Ms. Corner!' shouted Madam Hooch, as the first years hurriedly flocked under Daisy's quickly rising broom. Daisy let out a strangled squeak as the broom began lurching uncontrollably. Leala caught sight of Daisy's wand as it slipped from the inside of her robes and tumble into the cluster of first years. The broom hurtled violently upwards, and then jerked sharply into the rough stone exterior of the castle. Daisy let out a desperate cry as she lost her grip and crash onto the rough pebbled floor.

'None of you move!' ordered Madam Hooch as she raced to where Daisy had landed.

Daisy's blonde hair had fallen out from their careful plaits and her face was flushed a rosy hue. Her robes were crumpled and swam around her where she sat in a heap on the ground.

'Good heavens Ms. Corner are you alright?' barked Madam Hooch as she reached the flustered girl. 'I-I- my ankle- ouch,' stammered Daisy, wincing as Madam Hooch inspected her rapidly purpling ankle. 'That will be broken,' stated Madam Hooch matter of factly as she help Daisy to her feet.

She turned to the remaining first years, the Hufflepuffs looking concerned, the Slytherins tittering smugly. To Leala's disgust, Ava didn't seem to even be making an effort to keep a slight smile from her pale face. 'You are all to wait here while I escort Ms. Corner to the Hospital Wing. If I catch anyone with their feet off the ground, this will be the last night they spend in this castle. Clear?'

The first years nodded and Madam Hooch strode away, Daisy tucked under her arm.

The remainder of the class quickly separated back into their respective houses, opening the void again. Daisy's wand lay silently in the middle of them, lifeless without its owner. Leala bent to retrieve it, to return it to Daisy that evening; but a dark, slender claw beat her to it.

Zabini stood in front of her, towering above her, spinning the wand carelessly in his long, elegant fingers. Leala frowned slightly. 'I'll give that to Daisy, if you like,' she offered, holding out a shaking palm; something about the boy made her nervous.

Zabini looked at her, his dark eyes taunting. 'You could,' he said snidely, 'Or, we could have a bit of fun with Ditzy.' Leala frowned again. 'Daisy,' she told him firmly, though her voice barely escaped wobbling, 'and give me the wand.'

Zabini smirked, raising a dark eyebrow infuriatingly. 'Loyal bunch, you Hufflepuffs, aren't you? Say, you're the Hufflepuff sister, aren't you?' Both he and Leala turned to look at Ava. Leala's eyes widened expectantly as she waited for Ava to say something, to stop him. But Ava's eyes were emotionless as she glanced at the pair.

'This _is_ your Hufflepuff sister, isn't it Ava?' continued Zabini, his voice smug, though almost hesitant as he caught Ava's cold eyes. But then, Ava broke into a cold, almost cruel grin. 'Yeah that'd be her,' she answered with a shrug, 'take it easy, won't you? She's just a Hufflepuff.'

But her voice wasn't protective, or evening warning; it was smug, taunting, insulting.

Leala stared in disbelief at her sister, feeling a sharp sting of betrayal as tears prickled her icy eyes. She bit her lip in an attempt to keep them back and turned to Zabini. 'Give me the wand.'

Her voice and hands shook, but it was no longer a request; it was a demand.

Zabini smirked again. 'Maybe,' he said, tossing the wand in the air and catching it again, 'I'll leave it somewhere for Ditzy to find.'

He hopped gracefully onto the broom he was still clutching. 'Reckon the roof Fielder?' he smirked, before soaring gracefully upwards in the direction of the castle.

Leala didn't even realize what she was doing as she grabbed a broom from the ground.

'Leala!' exclaimed Louisa in shock.

'You don't even know how to fly!' put in Emmett.

'You'll be expelled!' gasped Maria.

But Leala had already left the ground. Anger over took her as she soared after Zabini. She wobbled slightly, but found, amazingly, she knew instinctively what to do. She smiled in delight as she leaned forward onto the broom and her speed picked up, cool air whipping past her face, rippling through her loose robes. 'This is actually easy,' she though in surprise as she gained on Zabini, 'This- this is _fun_.'

Zabini whipped around a ways ahead of her, a mixture of shock, disgust and awe rippling across his sharp features.

'Not bad for a mudblood Fielder,' he sneered.

'Give me the wand,' ordered Leala, amazed that she kept her balance as she held out a hand to Zabini. Zabini smirked, yet again.

'You want it?' he asked snidely.

'_Now,_' she said firmly.

'Go get it.' Leala stared in horror as he flung the wand as hard as he could through the misty sky. Without even pausing to think, she grabbed hold of her broom with both hands and hurtled after it, along the edge of the jagged wall.

Aware of how fast the wand was falling, she threw all her wait to the top of the broom. It was right in front of her, inches away. Carefully, she loosened her sweaty grip on the handle of the broom, leaned out as far as she could- and caught it between both hands.

She grinned in delight as she threw one hand back onto the broom and pelted down into the midst of cheering Hufflepuffs.

'Well done!'

'Brilliant!'

'How did you learn to fly so well?'

'That was amazing!'

'Ms. Fielder!'

The celebrating Hufflepuffs whipped around to see the Slytherins smiling smugly as Professor Longbottom marched towards them. Leala gulped as the irate Professor approached her.

'Come with me,' he ordered her.

'Professor,' began Maria, but he cut her off.

'Not now Ms. Finch Fletchley,' he said sharply.

The Hufflepuffs gave Leala desperate, sympathetic looks as she trailed miserably after Professor Longbottom.

'Professor,' she began quietly, but Professor Longbottom cut her off too.

'Silence Ms. Fielder.'

Leala nodded, her head spinning. She couldn't believe it. She'd never broken a rule in her life, and now on her first day she was going to be expelled from Hogwarts. She would have to stay at home with her father while her sisters boarded the magnificent train each year. Her stomach tied itself into a squeezing knot and her head pounded grotesquely.

As Professor Longbottom marched her up the stone steps and into the warm, dim Entrance Hall, she forgot, forgot her fury at Ava, forgot the wondrous sensation of soaring through the air on the broomstick, forgot how natural, how _right _it had felt.

She stared miserably at her feet as she trailed up the stone staircase to the third floor after Professor Longbottom, tears beginning to well in her blue eyes.

Halfway down the carpeted third floor corridor, outside a tall, wooden door, Professor Longbottom came to an abrupt halt. He turned to her. She looked up at him, tears slipping down her rosy cheeks.

He looked alarmed. 'Don't cry Leala, it's alright,' he said kindly offering her a tissue. She took it appreciatively. He regarded her carefully.

'Leala, I don't know why you were I the air, but I saw enough. What you did was against several rules, not to mention stupid and dangerous,' he told her sternly. 'I know,' she whispered tearfully.

He sighed. 'However,' he continued, 'I don't doubt you had good reason for doing what you did, mostly because I know for a fact that wand you are holding is not yours.'

Leala looked at her hand in surprise, to realize she was still clutching Daisy's wand tightly. 'No,' she agreed, 'It's Daisy's.'

Professor Longbottom nodded. 'Leala, from the moment I met you, you have seemed like good, kind hearted, trustworthy person. So, if you promise me two things, I won't report this, this, incident.'

Leala looked up at him, flooded with delight at relief. 'Oh, of course Professor anything! Thank you, thank you so much!'

He smiled at her. 'Excellent. Well then, one. You never try anything like that ever again.' Leala nodded wildly. 'No Sir, of course not.'

'Good,' he beamed at her, 'and two.' He rapped sharply on the wooden door in front of them, before shoving it open.

'Excuse me Professor Flitwick, may I borrow Mr. Montez for a minute please?' he requested. Leala did not hear Flitwick's response, but he evidently agreed because a second later, a tall, olive skinned boy with warm brown eyes, a Hufflepuff tie tied around his neck appeared at the door way, closing the door carefully behind him.

'Mr. Montez, this is Leala Fielder. Leala, this is Gabriel Montez,' said Professor Longbottom, seemingly excited. Gabriel smiled warmly at Leala, his brown eyes twinkling.

',' said Professor Longbottom, grinning now, 'I believe I have found you a seeker.'

**AN: Okay, so maybe not an original idea, but I was pretty happy with it. I'm not going to pretend I have an excuse for not updating, other than writers block so my sincerest apologises. Anyway, hope you liked it, I'll try to update my Lysander story next, for those who are reading it. Reviews would be lovely! Thanks for reading!**

**Love and sunshine,**

**LilyRose xxx**


	8. Late Night Revelations

**Chapter 8- Late Night Revelations**

_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. But please read anyway :)_

It was a dark, wet, murky Friday evening and the wide sky that loomed over the grounds was heavy with thick, black clouds. Fat, heavy droplets of rain poured down from them in at an alarming rate and a tired air of laziness was slung over the castle like an intricate film of spider's web.

Maia, Roxanne, Violet and Sage had just returned from dinner, and were curled up in front of a blazing fire, eyelids growing heavy. Roxanne and Maia were leaning lazily against the deep red sofa, Sage and Violet were sprawled out on a threadbare rug, Sage introducing Violet to the joys of wizards' chess.

'Bishop to D7,' commanded Violet, and with the crunching of stone, Sage's knight clattered into three pieces. 'Ha,' smirked Violet triumphantly as she scooped the crumbling pieces from the board, 'I'm winning!'

Maia and Roxanne laughed as Sage made a face. 'Not for long Dursley,' said Sage determinedly. 'Don't call me Dursley,' growled Violet and the pair became re-immersed in their game.

Roxanne glanced at Maia, to find her gazing into the depths of the dancing flames, eyes far away.

'How are your sisters?' she asked quietly. Maia turned to her, slightly surprised. 'Oh. Okay, I suppose. I mean, Leala's thrilled with making seeker and all, and Ellie's getting on great. Her friends seem… interesting, but it's nothing Ellie can't handle. It's just…' Maia hesitated, her cool eyes slipping back to the rustling flames. She pulled her knees tight up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

'Ava?' guessed Roxanne quietly. Maia nodded miserably. 'She's always been a bit… stand offish… but this is- I mean it's- it's like she doesn't care anymore,' she finished quietly.

Roxanne nodded, surveying her friend carefully. For several moments, neither of the red haired girls said anything. Finally, Roxanne broke the silence.

'I have a big family,' she said slowly, 'and we get in fights. She'll come around.'

Maia turned to face her, and saw certainty in her golden eyes. She nodded and offered her friend a small smile. 'Thanks Roxy,' she whispered, a slight lump in her throat. Roxanne smiled warmly. 'Anytime .'

Roxanne and Maia turned their attention back to Sage and Violet's game, rain beating heavily again the shuddering glass of the arched windows.

Down in the Great Hall, Leala was carefully sipping a mug of steaming hot chocolate, her soaking, bright yellow and black robes clinging to her body, her hair dripping and plastered to her forehead. The six other members of the Hufflepuff team were huddled with her and a large bowl of grapes at the table.

Montez sat across from her, grinning happily at his soaking team. 'That was some good flying out there tonight folks. I think we're going to do well this year.'

Megan Forsyth grinned at him from beside Leala. 'Course we are Gabe,' she grinned, 'We have to make sure you go out with a bang, don't we?'

Montez laughed at the cheerful fifth year. 'That's the plan.'

Leala glanced around at the laughing Hufflepuff team. Gabriel, Megan and a fourth year called Jodie Bast were the team's chasers.

Megan was relatively tall, with a heart shaped face framed by long, muddy red-brown curls. She had bright, sparkling blue eyes and her whole face was covered with deep brown freckles.

Jodie was shorter, with long, straight sandy blonde hair and pale green eyes that were framed with slim silver glasses that rested on her rounded nose.

The two beaters were a fifth year named Malcolm Peters and a fourth year named Thomas Nicholas.

Malcolm was average height with broad shoulder, a thick South African accent and a mischievous grin. He had tussled dark brown hair and bright amber-gold eyes that were framed by thick dark eyelashes.

Thomas was tall and had a slimmer build, with mousy brown hair and soft brown eyes, a pointed nose and round cheeks that were dusted with a reddish hue.

The team's keeper was a tall, dark skinned sixth year named Benjamin Masters. His skin was a warm dark brown and his bobbled black hair was cut short. He had an excited, warm smile and his deep brown eyes twinkled happily. He was friendly and outgoing and seemed to be very good friends with Montez, and was definitely second in command.

Montez turned to Leala, who although was thoroughly enjoying herself, was feeling slightly shy. Montez beamed at her. 'You were amazing today Kiddo. Where did you learn to fly like that?'

'I thought you were a muggleborn?' cut in Megan, before Leala could mumble a response. Leala nodded quickly and Benjamin let out a low whistle as Leala received impressed looks from the rest of the team.

Montez nearly choked on his hot chocolate. 'You're kidding me? Professor Longbottom never mentioned that! So today was your first time on a broom other than flying lessons?'

Leala nodded and smiled shyly. 'Damn,' breathed Benjamin. 'What's wrong?' asked Leala nervously. Montez laughed and shook his head.

'Nothing's wrong at all Kiddo,' he assured her, 'it's just, that's incredible. Really. First years hardly ever make the house teams. I mean, Albus Potter did last year, but he's probably been flying since before he could walk, his mum played for the Harpies.'

'Not to mention his father and grandfather were top rate seekers,' cut in Jodie, 'He was born to play that position.' Leala's eyes widened. 'He's a seeker?' she asked nervously. Montez nodded. 'Yes, but that's not the point. Leala, making the team in first year, having never touched a broom before is incredible. No one's done that since, well…' 'Harry Potter?' cut in Benjamin.

'Exactly!' grinned Montez, his brown cheeks dimpling. 'Anyway, you were great Kiddo. Train you up a bit and you'll play professionally.' He turned his attention back to the whole team, leaving Leala to marvel at his words.

'We'll have to organize our game plan carefully,' he told them seriously, 'Gryffindor after definitely going to be our toughest competition.'

'Hey, did you hear they got a new chaser?' asked Malcolm excitedly. 'Really? Who?' asked Benjamin curiously. 'Lucy Weasley,' answered Malcolm. The entire team groaned in unison. Leala surveyed them curiously.

Benjamin caught her eye and smiled. 'The Weasleys, to put it simply, are ninjas when it comes to quidditch. Well, they're ninjas in general, but especially when it comes to quidditch. They essentially dominate the Gryffindor team. I'm pretty sure Anna Wood is the only non Weasley on the team. They've won every year since the days of Victoire,' he shook his head, partly sadly, partly in awe.

'Lucy,' mused Megan, 'Molly's sister right?' Jodie laughed. 'Yes, but from what I've heard, remind her of such and you get hexed. Benjamin grinned. 'Really? She's so little.' Jodie waved a hand dismissively. 'Don't be fooled. It was her who blew up the toilets last year. Fred and James just got the blame.'

'The Potters are Weasley cousins, right?' asked Leala, remembering Roxanne's fond description of her family. Benjamin nodded. 'Right. Ninjas, the lot of them.' Leala couldn't help but smile at Benjamin as he shook his head.

'But this year,' grinned Megan, 'we have a 'ninja', she smirked at Benjamin, who flicked a grape at her.

'Megan's right,' agreed Montez,' with a determined smile. 'This is _our _year. We'll beat those Merlin forsaken Weasleys once and for all,' he declared.

Leala joined in as Megan, Thomas, Malcolm and Jodie cheered. Benjamin however, smiled smugly at Montez. 'What?' asked Montez suspiciously.

'Come off it mate,' grinned Benjamin, 'We all know you're quite, heh-hem, _fond _of the Weasleys, or at least one of them.' Montez blushed scarlet.

Megan laughed. 'It's okay Gabriel,' she beamed, 'We all know about you and Dominique.' Still blushing, Montez turned to glare at Benjamin. 'You told them?' he exclaimed, 'What happened to Hufflepuff loyalty?' he demanded. Benjamin grinned, 'They begged,' he said simply.

'We did not!' exclaimed Jodie. 'Well, maybe a little,' said Thomas thoughtfully. 'They were suspicious anyway,' concluded Benjamin, 'You've been fairly spaced mate,' he said simply.

Montez blushed at threw a grape at his friend. 'I don't like you Masters,' he said grumpily. Benjamin turned to Leala. 'He loves me really,' he whispered theatrically. Leala giggled.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. 'No I don't. Now, we better get to bed, or Harris will have my head. '

Down in the Slytherin Dungeons, the first years were already in bed. Ava was happy to have the bed in between Beatrice and Iris, because although Evelyn seemed alright, Eugenia didn't seem to like her.

Ava rolled over in her bed, unable to get to sleep. She found herself facing Iris, her loose blonde curls sprawled over her face like a net. The girl puzzled Ava. She continued to trail after herself, Goyle and Beatrice, but she had yet to say a word to any of them. The only time Ava had heard her speak was when Professor Slughorn had directly asked her a question and she had answered it perfectly in a melodic voice.

But other than that the girl had remained silent. Ava would never admit it, but something about her almost ghostly demeanor made Ava nervous.

Ava shook her head and was about to turn back on to her back, when from Iris's bed there came a sickening gasp and the girl lurched up, panting, tears rolling rapidly down her rosy cheeks.

Ava stared at her in alarm, unsure what to do. 'Iris?' she whispered quietly. Iris jumped. 'Ava,' she stuttered, hurriedly wiping her eyes, and Ava was vaguely surprised she knew her name, 'I-I'm s-sorry. I-I didn't mean to wake you,' she stammered, still rubbing her eyes fiercely.

'Oh,' said Ava quickly, 'that's fine don't worry about it. I wasn't asleep anyway.' Iris nodded shakily. 'Are- are you okay?' asked Ava nervously. She had no idea how else to handle the situation. 'Well, that's Leala's thing isn't it?' she thought angrily to herself. The thought of her sister caused her stomach to give a sickening twist but she determinedly ignored it, reminding herself she was now her own person.

'Y-yes. I-I'm fine,' she gulped, attempting to catch her breath. Ava nodded. She hesitated before saying, 'Well, good night Iris.'

'Good night Ava,' said Iris and both girls lay down and pulled up their blankets. Ava waited for Iris to fall asleep, for her breathing to become level and steady, but it didn't.

Iris was still on her mind as she began to drift off. There as definitely more to her roommate than she was aware. But she was determined to find out exactly what it was.

Up in the Ravenclaw tower, Ellie was also finding she was unable to sleep. It had been a busy and eventful week and she had loved every minute of it. She loved her lessons and didn't even mind the homework, and although slightly mysterious, her friends were better than she could have ever hoped for.

And although it made her feel slightly guilty, she couldn't deny that she was enjoying being more independent from her sisters. She attempted to convince herself that she had nothing to feel guilty about, that her sisters were enjoying the independence too.

She exhaled thoughtfully as she thought about her sisters. She hadn't spoken much to Leala, other than at the beginning of classes they had together, but she seemed to be getting on well. To Ellie's amazement, Leala seemed to be very popular among the Hufflepuffs, and even more surprising, she seemed to enjoy it.

Ava, on the other hand, Ellie had not spoken two words to since 'The Scrap,' as Max had taken to calling it. Ellie smirked at the thought; Max was really quite insane.

But Maia, for the first time, Ellie was worried about. Ellie knew that Maia was more the kind to suffer in silence and not complain, and even though Ellie thought she understood what was bothering her, she knew that she was powerless to fix it.

Ellie sighed, not liking to feel that she wasn't in control.

She started at the tall, airy ceiling for a few more minutes before sighing, sitting up and swinging her legs out of bed. She felt blinding on her bed side table for a book, but instead her hand fell on a scroll of parchment and a quill. She smiled to herself, struck with an idea.

She gathered up the quill and parchment and shuffled carefully through the dark dormitory to the door. She tugged it open and felt her way down the cold, stone, spiral stairs to the spacious domed common room.

Ellie loved the common room. It was open and airy and cool. She smiled as the blue curtains wafted from the storm shaking the windows. She nestled herself in a soft blue arm chair and smoothed the parchment across her lap. She opened the silver top of the ink bottle and smiled at the salty, metallic aroma it gave. She dipped in the quill quickly and began to write.

'_Dear Dad,' _she began. But that was as far as she got.

She jumped and dropped her quill as a door was thrown open with a shuddering crash and someone hurtled down the stairs from the boys' dormitories. She realized quickly it was Max, his brown eyes bright and wild in the dark.

'Ellie?' he exclaimed with urgency, 'Is that you?' 'Yes it's me you idiot! What's the matter? You'll wake the whole tower!'

Max race to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her in the direction of the portrait hole. 'Max, what's going on?'

'Ellie! He whispered, terrified, 'Greg's missing.'

**AN: Dun-dun-dun! Hope you enjoyed it, sorry it took so long, but my accounts all fixed now and it's nearly summer, so I will hopefully get more up faster. I wasn't sure about Maia's part, I know it's short, but I wanted to get across how close she was getting to Roxanne, and also Violet's adversion to being a Dursley. **

**For Leala I mostly just wanted to introduce you to the team, they'll probably be in it a fair bit. They were fun to write. Thoughts on Montez? I personally like him. Thoughts on him and Dominique?**

**For Ava I'm working on developing the plot, and also trying to show her personality. And how she may need her sisters even if she doesn't want them.**

**Ellie's is obvious. She's worried about her family, her friends are lunatics and Greg disappears.**

**So there ya go! Hope you liked it, reviews would be lovely! Thanks for reading!**

**Love and sunshine,**

**LilyRose xxx**


	9. Unexpected Assistance

**Chapter 9- Unexpected Assistance**

_AN: Sorry for the long- long long long- wait. Ellie centric chapter. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Harry Potter._

The castle was very different at night, Ellie realized as she and Max wove their way through the dark corridors, guided only by wand light. 'It's just as well we're Ravenclaws, eh?' Max had smiled when they had lit their wands; _Lumos, _wasn't learned until third year, but both Ellie and Max had mastered the spell.

'You realize how much trouble we'll be in if we're caught, right?' whispered Ellie, 'Do you even know where he might be?' Max shook his head. 'Not a clue.'

Ellie shook her head as she followed Max down a winding staircase, which was bathed in the eerie, pale moonlight that seeped through an open arch in the curved wall. A sharp gust of wind rushed through the pointed arch, sending shivers down Ellie's back. She shuddered.

Max cast her a glance. 'You okay?' he whispered. She nodded quickly. 'Fine. The castle's just scarier at night,' she said softly. Max grinned. 'Well, make pretend you're a big brave Gryffindor and you'll be fine,' he chuckled. Ellie laughed quietly as they came to a stop in front of an aged, splintering wooden door.

'I don't need to, do I? I mean, the castle's the exact same in the night as it is during the day isn't it? So logically, there's nothing to be scared of.' Max laughed softly. 'You are a true Ravenclaw, it has to be said.'

Ellie smiled and glanced at the door. 'What's in there?' Max shrugged. 'No idea. Shall we go in?' Ellie surveyed the door cautiously. 'Can't hurt I suppose,' she said, hoping she sounded more sure than she felt. Max grinned and lifted the rusting handle. With an echoing metallic clatter, he swung the door open.

The two friends gazed around the dark, long, empty room, hit with the airy cold radiating from the blank stone walls. Ellie blinked.

'There's nothing in here, is there?' asked Max, stepping into the room. Ellie followed him and glanced around the vast room. 'No, there's not,' she confirmed.

Suddenly, a shuddering gust of wind hurtled through the dark corridor the pair had just vacated, and swept the door shut with a deafening bang. Ellie and Max jumped and Ellie's wand fell to the ground with a clatter.

'Damn,' breathed Max, almost silently as Ellie stooped to retrieve her wand. 'It's just wind Max,' she whispered as she stood back up. Max squeezed his eyes shut. 'That's not what I'm worried about,' he breathed.

Ellie was about to open her mouth, when a crusty, bad tempered voice croaked loudly from down the corridor.

'Who goes there?' it wheezed, 'Who's out of bed?'

Ellie's eyes widened as her stomach plummeted sickeningly. '_Filch,' _she mouthed silently, and Max nodded grimly. 'Ideas?' he mouthed back. Ellie's eyes darted around the room, searching hopelessly for an escape. Her eyes fell on a dirt encrusted, rusting lock, that was open and swinging lazily from a worn, tired looking latch. She smiled.

Max quickly caught her gaze and widened his eyes. Ellie knew what he was thinking; with a simple spell Filch could have that lock thrown from the door. Ellie quickly shook her head and snatched the lock from the latch. She thrust it threw the latch and winced as she forced it shut with a metallic screech.

She grabbed Max's sleeve and dragged him with her to the far side of the room. 'Are you _insane_?' he hissed, 'Filch'll have that open in seconds. Ellie shook her head impatiently. 'He _can't,' _she whispered hurriedly and Max looked bewildered, 'He can't do magic! Roxanne told me.' Max's eyes widened as he digested this new information. He was about to open his mouth when there came sickening rattling at the door.

'Who's in there?' barked Filch hoarsely, 'I'll be getting Professor McGonagall on you, I will,' he yelped, and they sat in stony silence as they listened to him shuffling off in the opposite direction.

'Now what?' hissed Max as he pulled Ellie to the icy floor. Ellie gulped. 'I was hoping you'd have a suggestion.'

The pair sat nervously, frozen against the wall, waiting to be struck with inspiration for escape. A door banged heavily somewhere deeper into the depths of the castle, followed by the quick shuffling of frantic footsteps.

The friends exchanged a terrified glance. 'We're _dead!'_ hissed Max, with a wild gesture. 'Ouch!' he exclaimed as his hand collided with a sharp notch of rock that jutted out from the hard stones of the wall.

Suddenly, the wall shuddered violently. Ellie's eyes widened and Max's jaw dropped, as, with an earsplitting stony screech, the wall twisted painfully, the stones grinding into a new formation.

Ellie and Max watched in silent amazement as the stones finished rearranging themselves. Were had previously stood a blank wall, now resided a cold stone archway, a crisp, ghostly silver curtain fluttering eerily from it, concealing whatever it lead to. The notch of rock Max had hit sat happily, just to the left of the arch, looking like nothing more than a clump of ordinary stone.

'_Wicked,_' breathed Max in awe. The pair exchanged an amazed look, wide eyed.

'It was just down 'ere Professor!'

Ellie and Max bolted back to attention as the raspy voice slithered down the corridor. 'It was just down 'ere I heard 'em!' insisted Filch.

'Where does it lead to?' whispered Ellie hurriedly. Max nodded and darted to the wispy curtain, drawing it aside with a quick hand.

Ellie watched him carefully as he surveyed the cold passageway behind the eerie veil.

'What?' Ellie demanded as his brown eyes widened in alarm. 'Uh, well,' hesitated Max. Ellie rolled her eyes as she joined Max by the arch. Shoulder past Max to look through the arch. Her eyes met a blank wall, then fell to the ground.

Only there was no ground to be had. Straight bellow Ellie was a rocky, black cavernous drop, to which Ellie could see no bottom. And it was the only way out.

'Oh.'

Another bang, closer this time, followed by a prim, irritated voice wafted from outside the locked door. 'Mr. Filch, do you have _any _idea what time it is?' came the annoyed voice of Professor McGonagall.

Max shot Ellie a meaningful glance. 'Are you _serious?' _she hissed in alarm, 'You have no idea how deep it is! It'll kill us!'

'Oh it will not,' hissed Max. They whipped around as the footsteps grew closer still. Ellie shot him a desperate look. 'You're insane!'

'It was this door 'ere!' growled Filch, 'I'm sure of it Head Mistress!'

Max looked hard at Ellie as the door began to rattle. 'Bruises or expulsion?' he asked, holding out a sun touched hand. Ellie considered him carefully. Another heavy rattle from Filch made up her mind. She grabbed Max's hand tightly and he grinned as he tugged her to the edge of the deep drop.

'Ready?' he asked. Ellie nodded and squeezed her eyes shut as they stepped over the edge and plummeted into darkness.

At first, Ellie didn't even realize she was falling. The cool air that was rushing around her was pleasant and she felt surprisingly light as she plunged deeper into the darkness. She was vaguely aware of Max's voice wafting to her, calling her name. She forgot to expect collision, and was surprised when it came.

'Ellie!' exclaimed Max. Ellie allowed her eyes to snap open, and found a dull pain shot through her temples from having squeezed her eyes shut so tightly.

Max's deep brown eyes were wide with concern. Ellie realized she was lying flat on her back, but to her surprise, she felt no pain, other than the continuous dull throbbing in her head.

She pulled herself up to sitting and realized the only light was coming from the tip of Max's wand. 'Why aren't we hurt?' she asked, drawing her own wand from her pocket. Max gave her a relieved grin.

'Permanent cushioning charm,' he answered, as Ellie lit her wand, 'Can't believe I didn't think of that,' he admitted ashamedly, standing up and dusting himself off. He glanced up, back into the heavy darkness. 'The arch must've closed behind us,' he mused, 'Otherwise there would be some light.'

He glanced down at Ellie and smiled before extending a hand. Ellie took it and Max hauled her to her feet.

'Now we just have to figure out how to get out of here,' she sighed. Max grinned again, and with a casual flick of his wrist, gestured to what appeared to be another blank wall, towering and cold. But on closer inspection, Ellie realized it was actually two walls, crossing in front of each other; Max was gesturing to the narrow corridor that ran between them.

'Well that makes it easier,' said Ellie with a slight smile. To her amazement, she found herself overcome with an intense feeling of excitement, despite the precariousness of their situation. Or maybe because of it; Ellie wasn't sure.

Max grinned. 'Let's go then.'

The pair started down the narrow corridor. No sooner had they set foot across the entrance, than the walls were lit up by rows of torches, igniting with a prickling snap. Ellie and Max caught each other's eye and grinned.

Their footsteps echoed loudly against the stones of the towering walls, the flames from the torches flickering lazily, wisps of gold and amber rippling along the cold stones.

They reached the end of the corridor and Ellie heart sank; the wall was blank. She saw Max deflate out of the corner of her eye. 'Damn,' he breathed.

Ellie cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. Without a word, she stepped carefully up to the wall, examining it closely. She stretched her hand out, and ran it along the cool stone. It made her fingers tingle. Her fingers fell on a notch so small she almost missed it. But it was there; a tiny hole in the stones, no more than a centimeter wide.

'Ellie?' queried Max. 'Shush,' she hissed. Ellie raised her wand, jabbing it determinedly into the hole. Ellie stepped back hurriedly as the corridor was filled with the same earsplitting rumble of stone grinding on stone, as the wall pulled apart, assembling itself into yet another arch. An aged wooden door, hinges coated with rust, stood in the middle of it.

Ellie turned back to Max, struggling to keep the triumphant air from her face. Max rolled his eyes. 'Escape now, gloat later.' And with that he stepped to the door, twisted the tarnished handle and wrenched it open with a painfully screech.

The moon; large and high in the velvet sky, was bathing the castle and it's grounds in a pale, silvery glow when Ellie and Max tumbled outside into the night. Ellie craned her neck upwards to discover they were at the floor of the castle, the stone walls towering up above them.

Ellie's eye caught sight of a wisp of something white, fluttering airily from the highest window of one of the round towers above her. Suddenly Ellie realized just what was flapping in the window.

'Max!' she exclaimed, 'It's the tower! That's the common room!' she gestured wildly to the curtain. Max's eyes, alight in the moonlight, widened. Then his face grew thoughtful. 'Too bad be can't scale walls.'

No sooner had the words left Max's mouth, than the curtain, still fluttering breezily, began to lengthen, tumbling down the side of the tower, falling in ripples onto the dew dappled grass.

Ellie gaped in awe as a grin spread across Max's face. 'It's brilliant. It's like Hogwarts is on our side!'

They stood for a moment, taking in the huge stretch of curtain, wafting lazily from the dark window. Finally, Max spoke.

'I know we didn't find Greg, but I think maybe we weren't supposed to…' he trailed off beckoning to the curtain. A howl pierced the night, causing Ellie to shudder. She gulped. 'Agreed,' she said shakily.

Max grinned and they walked slowly to the bottom of the curtain. Max fingered the light material carefully, before giving it a sharp tug. It stayed firmly in place. Max nodded approvingly. He turned to Ellie. 'After you.'

Ellie swallowed, taking hold of the curtain. The material was silky between her fingers. She looked up to see the tower looming above into the black sky, peppered with bright stars. The window was a long way up.

She took a breath and began to climb.

**AN: Hope you liked it! Please please please review! **

**Love and sunshine,**

**LilyRose xxx**


	10. Quidditch

**Chapter 10 - Quidditch **

_**AN: Hi, sorry for the wait, it hopefully won't be as long for the next one. I had fun writing this, so I hope you enjoy!**_

_Disclaimer: I'm sure J.K. Rowling has better things to be doing with her time than writing fan fiction... Just saying. _

As the weeks passed, the weather rapidly became colder. A brisk wind took up a regular residence on the Hogwarts grounds and darkness came earlier and earlier each night.

Max and Ellie had mentioned nothing of their 'expedition' to Greg, nor had they attempted any further excursions. Small red patches, healed blisters, still peppered their hands from scrambling up the curtain that night. With Max and Greg (despite the mysteries that surrounded him) as her firm friends, Ellie was loving every minute of Hogwarts, classes included. She spent a lot of her free time in the library with Max and Greg, where they liked nothing better than to find the oddest titled book they could and pour over its contents for an afternoon. When it was warm out, the trio took their things outside and did their homework under a shaded tree by the lake, or tromped around the grounds, chatting and inspecting various bits of wildlife and plants they came across. Ellie soon discovered she had quite a flare for Transfiguration, and much to her own delight and that of her housemates, had earned several points for Ravenclaw in the two months she had been in the House.

Ava found herself on good terms with most of the Slytherins, although there was still an undeniable tension between herself and Eugenia, which Ava found unfathomable. She and Zabini continued to wind each other up good naturedly, and she had become more at ease with his cutting remarks, even joining in from time to time. While Ava was pleasant terms with Zabini and the others, she found herself quickly becoming inseparable from Goyle and Beatrice. Goyle, though not the sharpest tool in the shed, seemed generally good natured. He tried to avoid conflict, and he was undeniably less aggressive than the rest of the Slytherins. He seemed, Ava thought, slightly embarrassed by his heritage, and although Ava didn't understand it, Beatrice seemed to think it was to his credit. Beatrice, on the other hand, was sharp, sarcastic and fierce. For an eleven year old, she seemed incredibly knowledgeable of the ways and workings of the wizarding world, and very opinionated about it at that. Ava found Beatrice's insight very useful, and the two got along fantastically. Ava, although she detested homework, found she enjoyed the sense of power that came with yielding a wand, and found charms class and Defense Against the Dark Arts highly satisfying.

Maia felt completely at home in the castle. She found she was spending more time with Roxanne, Sage and Violet than she was with her sisters. She might have felt guilty, but Ellie, Ava and Leala were too busy with their own friends to notice, and anyway, Maia was having too much fun. Violet and Sage constantly kept Maia and Roxanne amused with their antics, and being best friends with Roxanne meant meeting her crazy family. Within her first couple of weeks at Hogwarts, Maia was introduced to all the Weasley cousins currently at Hogwarts. Dominique, Louis, Molly, James, Fred, Rose, Albus and Lucy promptly adopted Maia, and treated her as they would have each other, much to her delight. Maia found herself enjoying most of her classes, with the exception of History of Magic. Potions was not her forte either, though when paired with Roxanne, they always did quite well. She always enjoyed Herbology, and she particularly liked Professor Longbottom, Sage's fun loving father. If forced to choose, Maia would have to say Defense Against the Dark Arts was her favorite, and Professor Merrigold, the slightly eccentric teacher, had taken quite a shine to her.

It was Leala though, who, had they had the time to notice, Ellie, Ava and Maia would have thought had changed the most. And discovering her talent for Quidditch was the least of it. As sweet and kind as ever, Leala was now incredibly popular among the Hufflepuffs. Louisa was rapidly becoming Leala's closest friend, but Leala loved all her fellow Hufflepuff first years and they adored her beyond measure. The members of the Quidditch team admired her for her talent and liked her for her sweet nature. Leala found herself with a new found confidence; although still quiet, she no longer coward in quite the same way when someone addressed her. She definitely didn't go out of her way to be noticed, but she found herself able, albeit quietly, to talk to other students and Professors.

But on this cold October morning, Leala found herself completely in the absence of her newly acquired confidence.

It was the day before Halloween. The leaves on the trees had reddened to the colour of rust and the wind was brisk. While the other first years chattered happily as they wolfed down their breakfast, Leala, dressed in her bright yellow and black Quidditch robes, stared at her plate of scrambled eggs, feeling nauseated; today was the first Quidditch match of the season, Hufflepuff versus Slytherin.

'You'll feel worse if you don't eat,' said Louisa gently. Leala smiled weakly at her best friend. Louisa was dressed in a bright yellow knitted sweater, emblazoned with the Hufflepuff badger. Her shiny black bob of hair was clipped back from her eyes with hair clips, which flashed between yellow and black. Her school scarf was slung over her shoulders and Maria had painted yellow and black stripes on her cheeks.

'I'm not hungry,' she said quietly. Louisa frowned, but a second later she was hit square in the face with a bread roll. Leala and Louisa jumped and turned in the direction the roll had come from. Several seats down the table, Benjamin Masters was looking sheepish.

'Sorry Thomas,' he called, 'I was aiming for Fielder.' Leala blushed slightly. 'Eat,' instructed Masters, motioning by moving his fork from his plate to his mouth, 'You won't be any good to us if you pass out on the field.' He grinned encouragingly at Leala before turning back to a classmate he had been talking to.

Leala glanced at the food in front of her before grudgingly taking a bite. The eggs tasted like sawdust.

While Leala battled with her breakfast, Maia was listening to Roxanne and Sage's excited conversation about witnessing their first Hogwarts Quidditch match, she and Violet attempting to keep up.

'I hear the Slytherin beaters are brutal,' remarked Sage, spearing a piece of sausage, 'You do not want to be on the receiving end of one of their bludgers.'

'Bludgers?' inquired Maia worriedly.

'Leala will be fine,' assured Roxanne hurriedly, 'besides, the Hufflepuff beaters are just as good, they'll keep her safe.' Maia relaxed slightly. She of course didn't own any Hufflepuff paraphernalia, but she was wearing a yellow cardigan she'd brought from home in support of her sister, and Dominique and Molly, who were quite artistic, had painted little dancing badgers on all their faces.

At the Ravenclaw table, Ellie was too busy reciting the many rules of Quidditch, Max nodding approvingly, to be worrying about Leala. Ellie had learned all the rules and fouls to heart, under Max's careful training. She was wearing a thick, royal blue jumper, a demin skirt and white tights, but she had borrowed Leala's school scarf, promising to wear it at the match; Ellie didn't own anything yellow, so the black and yellow scarf she now wore around her neck would have to do. Leala had seemed delighted at the gesture anyway, and that was all that mattered.

At the Slytherin table, Ava was decked out head to toe in green and silver, sitting with Goyle and Beatrice, both of whom were also happily sporting their House colours. Ava couldn't deny she wanted her sister to succeed, despite what she had said about Leala that day in flying class, which she felt slightly guilty for. Ava hadn't spoken to Leala since.

But Ava honestly wanted her own House to win; she was very much torn. She decided as long as Leala didn't suffer any permanent damage, she would be happy to see Slytherin come out on top.

Fifteen minutes later, the Great Hall was empty and the Quidditch stadium was packed. Maia, Roxanne, Sage and Violet had managed to get seats in the front row, along with Michael Thomas, Jamie Finnigan and Andrew McLaggen. Most of Gryffindor had come to see the match, to size up their competition and to cheer on Hufflepuff. According to Roxanne and Sage, the Gryffindor-Slytherin tension wasn't as bad as it used to be, but Maia still thought it was fairly intense. In fact, she noticed, even the Ravenclaws seemed to be rooting for Hufflepuff, as well as the Gryffindors.

On the other side of the pitch, Ellie, Max and Greg sat in the top most row of the Ravenclaw booth, watching excitedly for the teams to come out. In the booth next to them, Ava sat with Beatrice and Goyle, attempting to block out Zabini's cries of how his brothers were going to annihilate the Hufflepuffs.

Goyle kept shooting her anxious looks, as though she was going to explode and attack Raziel. '_He's right to be concerned,' _thought Ava sourly as Raziel spoke loudly of Slytherin's certain victory; no pathetic Hufflepuff stood a chance against his brother, much less a mudblood. Feeling a tinge of guilt at the words '_pathetic Hufflepuff'_, Ava balled her hands into fists as Beatrice ordered Zabini to put a sock in it; she reminded herself it was her House she was cheering for, not Zabini's brother. Still, she found herself wishing he didn't play the same position as her sister.

Down in the Hufflepuff changing rooms, underneath the buzz of excitement, Leala thought she was going to be ill. She was fully changed, complete with her yellow cape, emblazoned with a large seven and 'FIELDER' in big black writing. She was clutching an old school broom, a Comet 180, in her sweaty hands.

Montez was giving them a hearty pep talk, but Leala barely heard a word of it; she was too busy trying to keep her breakfast down.

'And most of all, good luck to Leala for her first game,' smiled Montez, and Leala couldn't help but smile weakly back. 'Now, I want everyone to have fun, and we'll play the best game we have, agreed?' The other six members of the team cheered. 'Excellent,' beamed Montez, 'Badgers on three. One, two, three…'

'BADGERS!' they all shouted, leaping up. Leala's knees felt like they might buckle underneath her as she and the rest of the team followed Montez out of the changing room into the corridor between the stands. Montez led them, Leala behind him. They came to a halt before the doors. Montez lent down to match Leala's height.

'Feeling okay Kiddo?' he asked softly. 'Terrified,' answered Leala honestly, her voice barely more than a whisper. Montez nodded. 'Don't worry,' he said kindly, 'Just do what you've been doing in training and you'll be great. Zabini's not that great. He doesn't have your talent.' Leala nodded numbly.

A shrill whistle outside signaled for the teams to enter the pitch. Leala gulped. Montez smiled at her before pushing the door open and leading his team onto the field. Leala, still grasping her broom, looked around Montez to see seven green and silver clad figures striding towards them from the other side of the pitch.

The crowd was cheering deafeningly, the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins shouting the loudest. Leala could already feel excitement bubbling under her nerves, when her eyes fell on the front row of the sea of yellow and black clad Hufflepuffs; Daisy, Emmett, Oliver, Ben and Sam seemed to be doing some sort of dance routine and singing, while Louisa, Maria, Margo and Jasper were clutching a huge banner, painted with bright yellow paint, that read 'WE LOVE THE SEEKER!' in big, sparkling black letters, several small, painted badgers dancing across the bottom.

Leala laughed in delight and waved at her housemates. She glanced at the Gryffindor stand and saw Maia, with Roxanne, Sage and Violet, cheering madly, all decked out in Hufflepuff colours, jumping up and down and cheering. Maia was waving madly, and Leala waved back, feeling a tinge of pride. Her eyes wandered to the Ravenclaw stand then, where she could just make out Ellie with her two friends, standing up on the bench, wearing Leala's scarf and waving a Hufflepuff flag wildly. She then looked over at the cheering Slytherins, scanning the crowd for Ava. She saw her then, green and silver head to toe, looking away from the Hufflepuff team. Leala looked away, stung.

The withered Madam Hooch stepped onto the field then, dressed in referee robes.

'Captains!' she barked, 'Shake hands!'

Montez stepped up to the burly, dark haired Slytherin captain, who Leala knew was named Nathan Flint. Gabriel extended a hand, face firm but not aggressive. Flint seized it roughly, shaking it harder than was necessary, a sneer crossing his face.

'Now I want a nice, clean game, understood?' barked Madam Hooch. The Captains nodded. The crowd was cheering louder than ever and Leala could feel her ears buzzing, her stomach lurching, excitement and terror battling inside her. Madam Hooch gave them the nod to mount their brooms and take their positions on the field.

Leala leapt onto her broom and kicked off, immediately feeling better from the sensation. The two keepers tore towards the goalposts. The chasers circled above where the quaffle would be launched, the beaters hovering a few feet out, clutching their bats. Leala was perched several feet above them, her mind racing as she watched Madam Hooch, marveling at the ferocious cheering and yelling of the crowd.

'Right then, on my whistle,' shouted Madam Hooch, 'Three, two, one- TWEEEEET!'

The shrill whistle pierced the air as Madam Hooch launched the big red ball, the bludgers hurtling after it. Leala barely caught a glimpse of the glittering gold, walnut sized ball before it disappeared from sight.

In the same split second, the six chasers dived for the quaffle and a magically enhanced filled the stadium. Leala didn't recognize it, but it had a thick Irish accent and she guessed it was student.

'And they're off! Should be an interesting game today folks, a few new faces. And when the Snakes are playing, it's always interesting anyway. Sorry Professor,' the voice apologized swiftly.

'Anyway, back to the players!' the voice continued as Leala skirted around the pitch, keeping her eyes peeled for a flicker of gold. 'Flying for the sna- I mean, the most noble House of Salazar Slytherin, we have Flint, Zabini, Avery, McGovern, Remmel, Lindon and another Zabini! Merlin, there's nearly as many Zabini's as there is Weasleys these days… Sorry Professor Longbottom, I'll be good.'

In the Slytherin booth, Ava was enjoying the sour expression on Raziel's face as he glared daggers at Matthew Finnigan, the third year Gryffindor who was commentating. Ava's eyes flickered between the game, and where Leala was smoothly circling the pitch, several feet higher.

'And playing for Hufflepuff today we have Montez, Forsyth, Bast, Peters, Nicholas, Masters and Fielder!' The first year Hufflepuffs let out a great roar of pride as Matthew said Leala's name.

'Well now,' said Matthew, 'it seems the new Hufflepuff seeker has herself some fans!'

Leala felt a surge of happiness and her cheeks flushed with pride.

'And it's Bast with the quaffle, passes to Forsyth, who passes it back to Bast- Intercepted by Zabini! Er- that's the older one. The younger one's looking for the snitch. No sign yet Ulysses? Well that's what you get for being a stuck up- Sorry, sorry Professor.'

The Gryffindor booth rumbled with laughter as Professor Longbottom scolded Matthew.

'Flint with the quaffle, passes to Avery, who, for the record is actually a pleasant human being, which is unusual- I mean, Avery passes to Zabini, who avoids a bludger sent by Nicholas. Zabini shoots- Saved by Masters!'

Leala whirled around to see Masters grinning smugly at Zabini.

'Forsyth in possession, passes to Montez, back to Forsyth, passes to Bast, back to Montez- SCORE! 10-0 to Hufflepuff!' The Hufflepuffs, along with the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws cheered manically, while the disgruntled Slytherins booed and jeered.

'Forsyth with the quaffle- taken by Flint, passes to Zabini, back to Flint, back to Zabini- Merlin, they seem to have forgotten Avery exists.'

It was true; Gillian Avery was soaring alongside Flint and Zabini, looking highly annoyed.

'Flint still with the quaffle. Oof! Receives a nice bludger from Peters, drops the quaffle, caught by Montez. Oh, another bludger, sent by Remmel of Slytherin. Montez loses the quaffle, caught by Zabini- SCORE! Slytherin even the score to ten all!'

The Slytherins were cheering and caterwauling at the top of their voices, leaping and chanting in the booth. Back up in the air, Leala frowned and sped off in the direction of the Slytherin goalposts, hunting desperately for the snitch.

'Flint with the quaffle,' exclaimed Matthew, 'passes to Zabini, back to- OH! Stolen by Montez. Montez to Bast, back to Montez, Montez speeding down the field and passes to Forsyth. Ow, Forsyth gets a nasty bludger sent by McGovern, that had to hurt.'

Leala whirled around to see Megan wincing and clutching left her shoulder, Montez talking rapidly to her, Jodie glaring at McGovern, the fourth year Slytherin who was highly reminiscent of a boulder.

Suddenly a flurry of emerald green barreled by Leala, almost making her lose balance. The slim form of Ulysses Zabini whirled around to face Leala, his face twisted into a menacing sneer. He held you a claw like, gloved hand and drew his thumb across his neck. He then whipped around and bolted off as fast as he had appeared. Leala swallowed nervously as Matthew's voice rang out across the stadium.

'Zabini with the quaffle, passes to Flint, back to Zabini. Oh! Zabini receives a nicely aimed bludger from Nicholas, good job. Zabini fumbles the quaffle, caught by Flint, passes it back to Zabini. Zabini tearing down the pitch- tackled by Montez, doesn't lose the quaffle though, good try Montez. Zabini surrounded- Oh! He passes to Avery, guess he learnt to share. Sorry Professor. Avery shoots. Middle hoop? NO! Left hoop, ten points to Slytherin!'

The green clad students exploded into cheers, yelling and roaring. Leala looked down at the goalposts to see Gillian Avery smiling smugly, not at Masters, but at Zabini and Flint. Leala watched in amazement (while keeping a careful watch for the snitch) as Flint yelled something at Avery as they sped back down the pitch. Avery yelled back, but Leala didn't hear what she had said. Judging by the look on her face, she wasn't exactly on the best of terms with her captain.

Leala was so intent on searching for the snitch that she almost didn't notice the bludger that suddenly went hurtling across the field below her. But the barreling black ball, combined with the roars of outrage from the crowd, caught her attention, just in time for her to see it collided with Jodie, who had been perched on her broom, a good thirty feet above the ground, waiting for the quaffle to be tossed back into play.

Leala watched in horror as the bludger crashed into Jodie's head, with the nauseating crunching of bone. Several people screamed as Jodie toppled off her broom and plummeted towards the ground, sandy hair trailing behind her.

Leala, immobilized with fear, watched in terror as Gabriel and Peters dove, tearing after Jodie's rapidly falling form. There couldn't have been more than three feet between them and the ground when Peters managed to grab hold of Jodie, Gabriel managing to support him. The three of them collapsed in a heap on the ground, more lightly than should have been possible.

As Gabriel and Peters struggled to untangle themselves, the rest of players were beginning to land, and Leala, shaken back to her senses, followed. Professors were beginning to flood onto the field as Leala landed by her team, now huddled around Jodie, who was shakily attempting to sit up.

'Who did this?' barked Professor McGonagall furiously, green robes swishing around her ankles as she hurried into the thick of students, Professors Longbottom and Merrigold 'Who hit that bludger?' She looked at Madam Hooch who shook her head helplessly; she had been concentrating on launching the quaffle.

The crowds were still roaring in outrage, and Leala could feel her ears buzzing in the noise as she knelt on the ground next to Megan. Jodie was now sitting up, leaning against a very pale Nicholas. A large, egg shaped lump was already forming on the left side of her forehead, turning a nasty shade of purple. Peters and Megan were kneeling on either side of her, asking her repeatedly if she was alright. Peters kept holding up his fingers and asking her how many there were. Masters was standing, alternating between arguing with McGonagall and glaring at the Slytherins.

Gabriel looked worriedly at Jodie as McGonagall addressed him.

'Mr. Montez, did you see who aimed that bludger?' But Gabriel shook his head. McGonagall then turned to the rest of the Hufflepuff team who mimicked their captain; no one had seen who aimed the bludger.

'Ms. Bast, did you see who aimed the bludger?' inquired McGonagall, brow furrowed. Jodie shook her head, and then winced.

'Ow. N-no I didn't,' she said shakily, 'But I'm fine really, I can play,' she insisted. 'Like Hell you can,' growled Masters and Gabriel nodded in agreement. 'No way in Hell Jodie,' he told her.

'_I_ saw who did it.'

The Hufflepuffs and Professors all turned in surprise, the see Gillian Avery standing in front of the rest of the Slytherins, all who were sporting grimaces of pure hatred.

'Ms. Avery?' asked McGonagall.

An unreadable look crossed Gillian's face. She tucked a strand of her short chestnut hair behind her ear before she looked at McGonagall. 'It was McGovern.'

'Six billion points from Slytherin!' shouted Professor Merrigold, the slightly eccentric head of Hufflepuff. McGonagall cast him a scathing glance. 'Er-sorry. Continue Headmistress.'

The Slytherin team began to scream at Avery.

'TRAITOR!' yelled Remmel.

Avery kept her calm expression, but Leala could tell she felt awful.

'SNITCH!' roared Remmel.

'YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HER!' Avery roared back, her narrow face reddening.

'That will do,' said McGonagall sharply. 'Professor Merrigold, please escort your student to the hospital wing. No negotiation Ms. Bast!' McGonagall shot down Jodie's protests as Nicholas and Merrigold helped her to stand.

'Madam Hooch, you are the referee, and I do believe that was a foul,' said McGonagall as Merrigold and Jodie left the field.

'Yes, most definitely!' barked a highly irritated Madam Hooch, 'Penalty to Hufflepuff,' she exclaimed. At least three quarters of the stadium erupted into cheers and applause.

'Um, Madam Hooch, we don't have a reserve,' said Montez, looking slightly embarrassed. 'And why not?' demanded Madam Hooch. 'Because they all sucked,' said Masters with a shrug. '_Actually,' _said Montez pointedly, 'We had nearly a full team, and we were handed a seeker, so we never held tryouts.

'And they sucked.'

'That will do Masters. You'll have to play one short in that case,' said Madam Hooch. 'Now get into positions players!'

She blew her whistle loudly and the players began to dart back to their places. Montez took the quaffle to take the penalty, before turning to Leala. 'No pressure Kiddo, but we could really use a quick catch,' he smiled kindly, but Leala could see the seriousness in his warm eyes. Leala nodded mutely and Montez gave her an encouraging slap on the shoulder before dashing off the directions of the Slytherin goalposts.

Leala nervously mounted her broom and pelted off into the air, more determined than ever.

'And Montez taking the much deserved penalty for Hufflepuff,' Matthew Finnigan's voice filled the air again, 'And I think we'd all like to see those cheating, pathetic excuses for human beings put in their place.' Professor Longbottom did not argue.

Leala was searching determinedly for the snitch as Montez took the penalty. 'SCORED!' roared Matthew delightedly as Montez shot the quaffle through the middle hoop with ease.

Leala grinned as the crowd roared, looking up to see Ulysses Zabini on the other side of the pitch, glaring at nothing in particular as he hunted frantically for the snitch.

Ten minutes later, the snitch was yet to put in an appearance, and the Hufflepuffs were beginning to feel their disadvantage. Matthew had remarked several times that he thought the Slytherins should be forced to play down a player too, but other than a few cries of agreement from the Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, and boos from the Slytherins, he was ignored.

Slytherin were now leading 90-30. Montez and Megan were giving it their all, and Masters had saved over half of the attempted goals, but the Hufflepuffs were undeniably struggling.

Leala continued to circle the pitch, watching carefully for the snitch. She was just beginning to wonder if it had by any chance managed to leave the pitch, when she saw it.

It was about ten feet above her, and at the opposite end of the pitch, but her sharp seeker's eyes didn't miss the tiny flicker of shimmering gold. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Zabini; he was even further away and facing away from the snitch; he hadn't seen it. Praying she wouldn't be noticed (Zabini's broom was no doubt faster than Leala's borrowed school one) Leala tore after it.

She had travelled maybe twenty feet, when Matthew's thick accent filled the air. 'FIELDER'S SEEN THE SNITCH!' he exclaimed excitedly. There was an audible gasp followed by wild cheers from the spectators, but Leala blocked it out, only concentrating on the tiny golden snitch.

The snitch dropped in the air. Leala dived quickly, air rushing by her face, aware that Zabini would be on her heels at any second. The snitch continued to zigzag at a great pace, but Leala was managing to close the gap between it and her.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a bludger came flying at Leala. Luckily for Leala, it was badly aimed and only managed to clip her ankle. While it was extremely painful, it didn't impinge terribly on her ability to fly.

She could feel Zabini close on her tail, and even felt him brush at her toes. The snitch was right in front of her. She stretched out a gloved hand. She and Zabini were nearly neck-and-neck. The snitch dropped. Leala dived, Zabini right beside her. They were now only feet from the ground.

Leala's finger tips brushed the snitch. She urged the broom forward on last bit, a sickening pit in her stomach. She felt Zabini knock into her, in a desperate attempt to save the game. Leala's fingers clammed shut as the pair tumbled from their brooms onto the grass.

The crowd was completely silent as they stared at the two seekers, sprawled on the grass. Leala was lying flat on her back, staring up at the grey sky, trying to catch her breath and comprehend what had just happened.

Beside her Zabini sat up jerkily, looking around in confusion and disbelief. Leala's eyes fell to her hand, still clamped shut. She pulled herself up to a sitting position and shakily opened her palm, sticky with sweat.

The tiny golden ball sat there peacefully, feathery wings relaxed and unmoving, gleaming as bright as ever.

Then the crowd exploded. The cheering deafened Leala's ears as she stared, awe struck at the ting ball in her hand. 'HUFFLEPUFF WIN 180-90!' roared Matthew, 'I don't know where they found that kid, but Merlin, they're lucky to have her!' Her friends' shouts of 'WE LOVE THE SEEKER!' barely registered. Then all of a sudden, she was lifted from the ground and hoisted onto someone's shoulders.

The rest of the Hufflepuff team (barring Jodie) had landed by her, and Montez and Masters had thrown her onto their shoulders. Megan, Nicholas and Peters were leaping up and down and cheering, huge grins on their faces.

'You did it!' cried Gabriel, beaming from ear to ear, 'We won, Kiddo, you did it!'

Leala felt a grin spread across her face, and a surge of pride and delight rippled through her. Her whole body ached dully from exhaustion, her clothes plastered to her with sweat and her face bright red and steaming. Her ankle was beginning to throb painfully and swell in her tight quidditch shoes, but Leala didn't notice any of it, still gazing in disbelief at the gleaming snitch in her hand.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone way up in the stands, jumping around wildly, blonde curls dancing. Leala beamed and waved to Ellie, who waved back madly, a wide grin on her face. Leala then noticed a second person, jumping and cheering even higher and louder than Ellie had been.

Her flaming red curls were bouncing wildly as she jumped, little badgers dancing happily on her cheeks. Maia looked at Leala and positively beamed, wider than anyone ever had before. Her cheeks flushed a rosy hue, her icy eyes gleaming in a way they never had before. And Leala saw something in Maia's eyes that she never had seen before when her sister looked at her.

And in that moment, nothing else mattered. It didn't matter that her rapidly purpling ankle was pulsating unbearably. It didn't matter that she would never tell her mother of her success. It didn't even matter that Leala knew if she looked at the Slytherin booth now, she would not see a smile, or even recognition on the face of her third sister.

Because right now, in that moment, Leala saw the awe in Maia's eyes; for the first time ever, Maia was looking up to Leala, the way Leala always had to her.

And to Leala, that was the best prize she could get.

**_AN: Hope you liked it! I was trying to show Leala coming into her own and Ava... well being Ava. Next chapter's Hallowe'en! Please, please, please review, they make me so happy! Oh, and by the way, I totally got my Pottermore account! Wooo! Thanks for reading! _**

**_Love and sunshine, _**

**_LilyRose xxx_**


	11. Halloween Part 1

**Chapter 11- Halloween Part 1**

**AN: Okay, I'm not even gonna try and make an excuse. Hope you enjoy it anyway!**

_Disclaimer: Not mine, never mine. But I did make up the sisters. _

It was not a sufficient amount of sleep, or the sun seeping through the ruby curtains that woke Maia the next day. It wasn't even Henry, tapping the window with his sharp beak; it was Violet.

She was perched at the end of her bed, sitting cross legged, a box of Bertie Bott's Every flavoured Beans in her lap. 'Up time!' she said cheerily, chugging well aimed bits of candy at Maia.

Roxanne giggled from the next bed as Maia groaned and rolled over sleepily. 'But I'm tired,' she moaned. 'Too bad,' said Violet, leaping from her bed and hopping over to Maia's. She grabbed Maia's ankle and tugged her to the floor with a thud.

Roxanne laughed as Maia, bleary eyed and flustered, looked up at Violet. Her glare melted however, and she laughed upon seeing the goofy grin on her friend's face.

Violet, wearing a bright yellow knitted jumper, was barely recognisable from how Maia had first met her on the train. The timid, slightly sullen air had been lifted from her shoulders, and the reversed look in her bright grey eyes had been replaced with laughter and confidence.

It was, however, the first time Violet was awake before Maia. In fact, Violet being up before anyone we unprecedented. 'What time is it?' inquired Maia, as Violet helped her to her feet. 'Nearly eleven,' answered Roxie. Maia rubbed her eyes tiredly; she wasn't surprised she'd slept late.

After the previous day's match, Maia and Ellie, seemingly with the same idea, had run down to the Hufflepuff changing rooms. They had hesitated before knocking; even if they weren't Slytherins, they were still members of opposing houses.

Ava did not join them.

But the Hufflepuff team, recognising them as Leala's sisters, had greeted them warmly, and invited them back to the common room for the celebration party. Even though students weren't strictly speaking meant to be in another house's common room, the delight the suggestion brought to Leala's face had made it impossible for them to say no.

If anyone had noticed their presence at the party, they had said nothing, and Maia and Ellie were included in the celebration as much as anyone.

It seemed every single member of Hufflepuff (including Professor Merrigold) had been packed into the common room. Maia and Ellie were amazed by how loud the seemingly mild mannered Hufflepuffs were capable of being.

Jodie, who Madam Pomfrey had grudgingly released from the hospital wing for a few hours, had been confined to an armchair by Montez and Thomas Nicholas hat sat loyally at her side all night. Her face was still ghostly pale, but she was grinning broadly.

Leala was decidedly the hero of the game, and she seemed to spend all night shaking peoples' hands and being congratulated.

At one point, a couple of third years had snuck out the kitchens and had returned laden with freshly baked cauldron cakes and jugs of pumpkin juice, courtesy of the house elves.

About half way into the night, one of the older students had produced a bottle of firewhiskey. Professor Merrigold, contrary from punishing them, joined them in a glass.

'Ah, Ms Fielder!' he greeted Maia merrily at one point, 'How's things dear girl? Simply splendid to see you!' Maia had giggled at the daft Professor.

Shortly after midnight, Maia and Ellie had decided it was time to go their own common rooms, at the risk of running into Filch if they stayed much longer; they didn't suppose any patrolling prefects would take offence to them being out on the night of a game.

Maia and Ellie hunted for Leala to say good night. They found her with Megan, who was reliving the game moment by moment, as a group of second years listened in awe. Leala might have been disappointed as they bade her goodnight, but she was thrown onto the shoulders of Gabriel and Masters before she could. The whole common room exploded into cheers and applause and Leala blushed, bashful and proud.

Maia and Ellie had laughed as they ducked out of the wild common room.

Maia rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn now as Violet hopped excitedly from foot to foot. 'Come on, come one, come on!' she urged Maia. Maia raised an eyebrow. 'What's got you so excited?' she enquired as Violet danced around in a clumsy circle. 'It's Halloween!' she exclaimed gleefully. From the next bed, Roxanne exploded into giggles.

'What?' demanded Violet, 'I love Halloween!'

Maia laughed as she slid into the bathroom to change.

Ten minutes later (having had to go back to the dormitory because Violet had forgotten her wand) the three friends walked, or in Violet's case skipped, into the Great Hall. It was relatively empty, probably because it was late in the morning, Maia mused. The Hufflepuff table was the busiest with bleary eyed students of all years, still decked out in their house colours, yawning and sipping tea, all with smiles on their faces.

Leala looked up as Maia walked in, and waved madly. Maia grinned and waved back. She spotted Ellie at the Ravenclaw table, asleep on the table. Max and Greg sat with her, Max doodling on Ellie's arm with a colour-changing quill. Greg caught Maia's eye and smiled and waved, causing Max to look up and grin wickedly before returning to his work. Maia laughed as she raced after Violet and Roxie to the Gryffindor table.

Sage was already there, having an in-depth discussion with Michael Thomas about Britain's new beater (_'that's the one with the bat,' _Maia reminded herself). He grinned when the girls plonked onto the bench opposite him. 'Morning,' he grinned, before pointedly looking at his wrist (even though he didn't own a watch) and adding, 'Just about.'

Violet chucked a scone at him as they sat down, which he caught and proceeded to butter.

'So are you excited for Halloween?' asked Sage, reaching for the strawberry jam.

'Yef!' grinned Violet through a mouthful of waffles, and Maia, Roxanne and Sage all laughed.

'Lovely manners Vi,' grinned Roxanne.

'What 'bout you Maia?' asked Sage, taking another scone, 'I'd say we do Halloween a little differently from the muggles.'

Maia grinned. 'Well we definitely never had live bats,' she said, gesturing to the ceiling where dozens of bats hung sleepily. 'Or the over-grown pumpkins,' added Violet, referring to the boulder sized pumpkins that sat in the entrance hall, courtesy of Hagrid.

'What about you Sage?' asked Roxanne, 'Excited for your first Hogwarts Halloween?'

Sage swallowed a large mouthful of scone before answering. 'Yeah, Frank always says it's great here. Personally I can't wait for the-,'

'Feast?' said Maia, Roxanne and Violet in one voice. Sage blushed again and the girls laughed.

The mood was considerably bleaker at the Slytherin table. The Slytherins sat in silence, their pride still hurting from their loss to Hufflepuff. 'If it had been Gryffindor, it'd be alright,' moaned Raziel Zabini for the twentieth time that morning, 'Even Ravenclaw. But _Hufflepuff.' _

Ava, who was sitting with Beatrice and Goyle, tightened her grip on her mug of tea. Her insides squirmed uncomfortably, and if she hadn't been as stubborn as she was, she'd have admitted that it was guilt. In her heart, Ava knew she should have congratulated Leala – and apologized for how she had acted in the weeks previous.

But Ava wasn't one to admit she was wrong, she was too stubborn and proud for such things. She sighed to herself as the Slytherin table continued to mope; all things aside, she missed her sisters.

At the Ravenclaw table, Ellie was examining the cat that Max had drawn on her hand. It was running around in circles, flashing between red, yellow, blue orange and purple. 'Whatta ya think?' grinned Max, as Greg shook with silent laughter. 'It's actually kind of cute,' mused Ellie, as the cat flickered to a deep purple.

'You should be glad it was a cat,' said Greg, 'he was going to draw a Dark Mark, but I talked him out of it.'

Ellie was about to ask what a Dark Mark was, when a wild flurry of post-owls came soaring in above their heads. Ellie spotted her snowy owl, Ventus, amongst them, clutching what looked like a letter. Ventus swooped down to Ellie, and dropped the thick letter on her plate.

'Thanks,' Ellie said to the owl, as it nuzzled her arm affectionately. 'Who's it from?' asked Max, tossing a piece of dry cereal into the air and catching it in his mouth. Ellie examined the letter, feeding Ventus a piece of toast with her other hand.

The letter was in an envelope, stamped with muggle stamps and addressed '_Ms Eleanor Fielder, Ravenclaw House, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland' _. Ellie grinned. 'My dad.'

She wasted no time in shelling open the envelope and tugging out the letter inside. She felt a flurry of excitement as she began to read.

'_Dear Ellie,_

_I hope this reaches you okay. I still haven't quite grasped the 'owl-post' concept yet. Never mind, eh? All in good time! __Thanks for your letter, I'm lonely without you lot! Leala's written too, but Maia and Ava seemed to have forgotten about their poor old dad! Still, I'm glad to hear you're all doing well. Who'd have thought our Leala a sporting super-star? I hope I'll get to see her play someday. She tried to explain it to me in her last letter but I have to admit it mostly went over my head. I hope I get to meet your new friends, they sound like interesting characters to say the least! _

_I'm dying to see you all, but I'm afraid I have some bad news. I have to go to a conference in Switzerland over the Christmas break. I tried to explain that I needed to be home, given our new set of circumstances, (well, I left out the 'my daughters are witches' part), but I couldn't get out of it. I'm so sorry Ellie, but you are your sisters will have to stay at school for the holidays. If you could tell your sisters for me, I'd really appreciate it. I think it would be better for Leala to hear it from you, rather from a letter. Give them all my love and I'll see you at Easter. I told them if I had to work over Easter, I'd quit! _

_Have a good term, _

_Love, Dad.'_

Ellie felt a stab of disappointment as she finished reading the letter. She loved Hogwarts with every fibre of her being, and felt as much at home here as she did anywhere, if not more so. But she was desperate to see her father again. Also their '_new set of circumstances' _made Ellie's insides squirm, and confirmed her suspicions that there had been no word from her mother.

'Are you alright Ellie?' asked Greg gently, reading the look on her face. Ellie nodded, slightly numbly. 'Oi, what's all this about 'interesting characters'?' demanded Max, who had being reading over Ellie's shoulder, 'What'd you tell him about us?'

Ellie rolled her eyes. 'I may have mentioned your fight with Zabini.' Max grinned and leant back in his chair. 'Ah yes. One of my finer moments.' Greg frowned, but Ellie said nothing.

She had told her father about the fight, but she had left out Ava's involvement. She hadn't told him anything about Ava. She decided he had enough to worry about.

'I have to go talk to my sisters,' Ellie said, standing up, letter in hand. 'Good luck,' grinned Max. Ellie chuckled before strolling off.

She went to find Maia first. She was perched between Violet and Roxanne, chattering away to an older red-headed girl, that Ellie thought was one of Roxanne's many cousins. When she reached the table, she tapped Maia on the shoulder. Maia turned around, and smiled when she saw Ellie.

'Hiya Ellie,' greeted Roxanne with a warm smile. Ellie greeted Roxanne, Sage and Violet, before Roxanne introduced her to the red headed girl, who was indeed one of her cousins, sixteen-year-old Dominique.

'So what's up?' asked Maia. 'I need to talk to you,' she hesitated, 'All of you.' Maia frowned slightly at the words, but nodded. She hurriedly said goodbye to her friends and stood up from the table.

'Is that from Dad?' she asked, nodding at the letter in Ellie's hand. 'Yeah,' said Ellie, as they approached the Hufflepuff table. Leala looked up as they reached the table.

'Morning!' she said cheerfully. 'Morning Leala,' said Maia. She turned to Leala's friends, who were clustered around her, 'Can we borrow Leala for a minute?'

'Of course!' said Louisa Thomas with a smile, 'We were just leaving anyway. We'll see you back at the common room Leala.' Leala said goodbye as her friends left the Great Hall. Ellie didn't say so, but she thought it was a bit odd how the Hufflepuffs did everything in one big group. She was happy with just Greg and Max for company.

'Is something wrong?' asked Leala worriedly. Maia looked at Ellie. Ellie sighed. 'No, not really. Can we just find Ava? Then I'll explain.'

They stopped several feet away from the Slytherin table. None of them had the slightest desire to approach the sulking Slytherins. But Ava didn't appear to have noticed them, so they didn't really have a choice. 'I'll go,' said Maia.

She walked confidently up the table. Ava was huddled with Goyle and Beatrice, Zabini whining away as usual. Maia couldn't remember the names of the other first years.

The Slytherins all turned around when Maia reached the table. 'Morning,' she said pleasantly. She received several good natured nods from most of the first years, and even a careful wave and smile from Goyle and Beatrice. It was only Zabini, and the blonde, pigtailed girl who seemed to take offence to Maia's presence. Ava just looked at her, eyes wide.

'Ava, we need you for a minute please,' said Maia calmly. Beatrice poked Ava in the ribs to make her stand up. As she followed Maia she could hear Zabini making snide comments.

The four sisters followed Ellie out into the quiet corridor. They didn't meet each other's eyes as they settled in a corner.

'What's going on?' said Ava. Ellie regarded her coolly.

'First off, you're not allowed to talk,' she snapped.

Maia sighed, 'Helpful Ellie.'

'Would you just explain what's happening so I can leave?' demanded Ava.

'Will you stop being a prat?'

'Would you both shut up so Ellie can read the letter?' exclaimed Maia in exasperation.

'Not until she apologizes to Leala.'

'I have nothing to apologize for!'

'STOP IT!'

Maia, Ellie and Ava all jumped at Leala's scream. She stood with her hands clenched into fists, her face bright red.

'Please,' she said shakily, 'just stop fighting. All of you.' Tears were beginning to well up in her sparkling eyes. 'I-I can't take it anymore. Ellie can you please just read the letter?'

Ellie began to read quietly, although only the parts she felt they needed to hear. When she finished, no one said anything.

'Well that's just splendid,' said Ava coolly. Ellie rolled her eyes. Maia pulled Leala into a hug. 'You okay?' she asked. Leala nodded, but her eyes were glistening. 'I guess. I mean, we'll have each other, right?'

Maia, Ellie and Leala all looked at Ava. Ava glared at them. 'It's not like I have anywhere better to go, is it?'

At that moment, Roxanne, Violet and Sage strolled out of the Great Hall. 'Hey Maia,' called Sage, 'We're going to go to Hagrid's. You coming?'

Maia looked back to her sisters. 'I-it's okay,' said Leala hurriedly, hastily drying her eyes, 'I said I'd meet Louisa anyway.'

'Wait, Leala,' said Ellie worriedly, but Leala cut her off. 'I'm fine, really. I'll see you later.' And she hurried off before anyone could stop her.

Roxanne, Violet and Sage were standing, rather awkwardly to the side, realising they'd walked in at a bad time. Maia shot them an apologetic glance. She turned back to Ellie and Ava. 'I'm going to go to Hagrid's,' she said quietly.

It was just one simple sentence, one extraordinarily ordinary action. But it meant more than that. It meant that Maia didn't have the energy, or the heart to stay and try to make things right. For the first time ever, Maia couldn't handle Ellie's impatience, or Ava's sharp words or Leala's tears. Maia just couldn't deal with her sisters.

And Ellie and Ava knew it.

'Fine,' muttered Ava. Ellie just nodded. Maia felt an uncomfortable twist in her stomach. For a moment, there was a horrible silence. Then Ellie looked up and said, 'I'm going to find Greg and Max.'

She turned to walk away, before stopping and facing them. In an emotionless voice, she said, 'Oh, and both of you stop being tosspots and write to Dad.' And with that she turned on her heel and walked away.

Maia and Ava were left looking at each other. Then, without a word, Maia turned away, and walked to join her friends, leaving Ava alone in the empty corridor.

'Are you alright?' Roxanne asked her quietly. 'I'm fine,' assured Maia, fairly unconvincingly, 'Let's just go.' Before they reached the huge wooden doors that led to the grounds, Maia turned around and looked back down the corridor.

But Ava was already gone.

**I know there wasn't much about Halloween in that chapter, but I wanted to include lots of stuff, so I thought it was better to make it into 2 parts. Next one coming soon hopefully. I'm incredibly sorry for the wait, but I hope you will forgive me enough to leave a review! Thanks for reading, and I hope you all have a Happy New Year!**

**Love and sunshine, **

**LilyRose xxx**


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